The Redemption of Nicholas Wilde
by Nitemage256
Summary: Bellwether is in custody and the Night Howlers case has been solved. Nick has spent twenty years building up barriers to keep everyone from seeing the real fox, but what's a fox to do when a certain bunny can see right through those barriers and has set her sights squarely on him? Drama/Action/Suspense and plenty of Wilde-Hopps shipping.
1. Climbing to the Top

It had been ten minutes, and Nick and Judy were still at the bottom of the exhibit, and Nick was getting annoyed. He looked over at Judy, who was sitting on one of the exhibit's rocks watching the various ZPD officers moving around above them in the museum. She wasn't complaining, but as she shifted her position, Nick could see her wince in pain. He looked at her leg again and was sure that the blood stain had grown larger over the last 10 minutes.

"What's taking them so long?" he demanded.

"Nick, Bogo already explained that even though the museum is being renovated, they can't find a ladder long enough to reach down here. The emergency services should be here shortly, and then we can get out."

"You would think they would put a little more effort into rescuing an injured officer."

Judy looked down at the ground and in a quiet voice replied, "Nick, I sort of don't work for the ZPD anymore."

When she saw Nick's feet come to a stop in front of her, she kept her head down not wanting to see if Nick was disappointed in her. Nick lifted her chin with his paw and looked into her eyes. "Why not, did Chief Buffalo Butt fire you?"

"No, Nick I….. kind of quit. That press conference I gave drove a wedge into the heart of the city. I hurt so many innocent predators."

"And so you just quit? Why didn't you try to fix it?"

"I didn't know how. Then Bellwether and Bogo wanted to make me the poster kit for all of the prey in the city. I just couldn't do that."

As Judy started to cry, Nick wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright Judy, foiling Bellwether's plan should help to mend the city. You did the right thing bunny, so stop crying."

As Judy wiped the tears from her eyes, Nick straightened and started looking around the exhibit again when something caught his eye. Looking closer he was just able to make out the shape of a pipe cleverly camouflaged into one the exhibit's murals. Tracing the pipe with his eyes, Nick saw that it went from the floor right up to where the museum's main floor overhung the exhibit. Finally, he thought.

He grinned and turned to Judy while rocking back on his heels. "Carrots do you trust me?"

Judy looked at Nick, seeing him flash that charming smile of his. She didn't want to know how many mammals he had lured into giving him their hard earned money, with that damn smile. "Yes, Nick, I trust you. Heck, after today, I would trust you with my life. So what do you have in mind?"

Nick felt his heart catch with her words. He would have never survived on the streets if he couldn't tell when someone was lying to him, and he could see she had meant it.

Judy watched as Nick's usual happy-go-lucky mask melted away. His expression shifted rapidly to one of shock, then worry, and finally settled into one of sadness.

"Nick, are you alright?"

Nick forced a smile. "Of course I am."

He shook his head briefly, then replied, "I'm just tired of waiting on the mammals in blue up there. How about we show them what a couple of civilians can do?" as he flashed a genuine smile.

Judy couldn't help herself as she returned his smile while wiping away the last of her tears. "Okay, so what do we do?"

Nick walked over to her and crouched down facing away from her. "Well, your transport to freedom awaits, climb on board."

Judy chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Wincing and catching her breath as her injured leg came in contact with Nick's body. Nick glanced back in concern.

"Are you okay?"

She squeezed his neck, "Yeah, my leg's just a little sore."

As Nick stood up, he let out and over exaggerated groan. "My god, what the heck do you bunnies eat? Lead bars?"

Judy flicked his right ear in mock annoyance. "Don't you know it's not nice to comment on a lady's weight?"

"Hey, careful there Carrots, those are sensitive," as he glanced over his shoulder trying to frown at her while failing, miserably.

"So Nick, you still haven't told me what this masterful plan of yours is."

Nick started walking toward the pipe. "See that pipe ahead of us?"

It took Judy a couple of seconds of squinting to make out the thin pipe hidden in the shadows. "Yeah, sort of."

"Well, that's the plan."

Judy's jaw dropped, "Sweet cheese and crackers, I don't think I like this plan."

"Relax Judy. I've done this every day since I was twelve. Just close your eyes and make sure to hold on tight."

Nick couldn't help himself from saying, "Welcome to the Natural History Museum, next stop main lobby and gift shop, please keep your possessions with you at all times," as he took hold of the pipe and started to climb.

* * *

Chief Bogo was screaming on the phone, "There are over a half-dozen fire stations in the city center alone, there must be something you can send. I have an injured officer, I need that rescue crew and ambulance now, not in an hour."

He cursed as the rescue dispatcher replied curtly, "Unless your officer is dying, we simply have nothing to send. We will send a unit over as soon as one is available, but that won't be for at least an hour, goodbye," and hung up on him.

It was frustrating. In 15 years of service, Bogo had never seen it this bad. Due to the aggressive nature of predators, they were perfect for and had always made up the majority of the response services in Zootopia. Since no one had determined the cause of the savage attacks, and with the growing hostilities towards predators, a majority of the responders had either called in sick or just refused to work, electing instead to stay home and guard their families.

He was about to call and vent his anger to the fire marshal when he was interrupted as Wolford tapped his arm. "Uh. Chief should they be doing that?" pointing into the exhibit. Bogo looked in the indicated direction. He froze, not quite believing what he was seeing. Judy was clinging to the fox's back while the fox was rapidly climbing the enclosure's wall. It took only seconds till the fox reached the top of the exhibit and stretched his paw over the lip, trying to find something to grab onto while calling out, "a little help here?"

Bogo yelled, "Pennington pull them up," the elephant had been facing away from the exhibit and turned in confusion, but on seeing the fox's paw flailing around rushed over to pull them up.

Wolford could just make out the pipe the fox had used to climb out of the exhibit and shivered. Canids hated climbing and avoided it whenever possible. Their bodies just were not designed for it. The wall at the academy had washed out more canid candidates than anything else. That fox had to be insane to be willing to climb that pipe while carrying someone on his back.

* * *

When Nick's paws touched the ground, he felt Judy sliding down his back. Then he heard her yelp. Nick spun and just managed to catch her before she could fall to the floor. He crouched down and pulled her arm over his neck so she could put her weight on him instead of her injured leg.

"Are you okay carrots?"

She smiled back at him, "I'm fine Nick." Nick very much doubted that. Nearly all of the color had drained from her ears, and her fur was matted with sweat.

"Come on Carrots. It's time to get you to the hospital."

Judy squeezed Nick's neck, "In a couple of minutes Nick, first we need to report to Chief Bogo."

"No, we don't. You don't work for Bogo anymore. We can talk to him after we get your leg patched up."

He looked down at Judy and frowned. She had dropped her ears to the sides of her face. Her lavender eyes were wide open, staring innocently into his, while her lower lip trembled as she whimpered, "Please Nick, for me?"

Nick groaned, he knew there was no way he was going to win this argument, "Fine, but just a quick briefing and then you're going straight to the hospital." Judy's face instantly returned to normal with a big grin on it, "Too easy."

"I didn't know bunnies can be that evil." Nick complained, "That look should be registered as a lethal weapon."

"Oh shush, you know you love it, come on, let's get this over with."

Judy's thoughts were thrown out the window as Bogo stormed over to the two mammals.

"What the hell do you think you were doing? You could have gotten yourselves killed pulling that stupid stunt!"

Nick couldn't help himself and in his sweetest voice said, "Oh, it's so touching to know that you truly care, I had no idea."

Nick grinned as Bogo clenched his fists and growled.

Nick opened his mouth to make another comment but was interrupted as he felt Judy squeeze his neck. He glanced down seeing her shake her head, sighing and closed his mouth. Bogo's eyes pinned the fox for a several seconds before turning to Judy.

"Judy, I need a rundown of everything that happened." Judy quickly ran through the events of the last several hours. When the Night Howler pellet came up, Bogo had Nick carefully remove it from his shirt pocket and drop it into an evidence bag. He also had Judy play Bellwether's confession several times while he made a copy of it with his phone. Once done, he had her drop it into another evidence bag. Then he started grilling them.

Nick was tired, what was supposed to be a quick briefing had already lasted for over 20 minutes, and there seemed to be no end to Bogo's questions. He glanced down at Judy and was startled when he realized her entire lower pant leg was covered in blood.

"Dammit Carrots, why didn't you tell me you were still bleeding?"

"Nick, I'm all right."

Nick replied tersely, "No, you're not," glaring at her.

Nick looked Bogo straight in the eyes stating flatly, "That's it, we're done here. You should have plenty of information for now, and I need to get Carrots to the hospital".

Bogo glared at the fox then looked at Judy's leg, and his face softened, "You're right, we will pick this up at another time. I would appreciate it if you two would not discuss the details of this case with anyone yet. We still need to interrogate Bellwether and those rams we arrested to determine if anyone else was involved. Not to mention we need to notify the head of the city council that she's now the acting mayor. We probably won't have enough information together to hold a press conference until at least tomorrow."

Judy looked at Nick, who nodded his assent. "Okay, Chief we won't tell anyone, just make sure you get everyone that was involved."

"You have my word on it." Bogo then sighed "Unfortunately, it appears that the ambulance I requested still hasn't arrived. Officer Greyclaw is outside. I will have her drive you to the emergency room."

Bogo's was surprised when the fox responded with a curt, "Thanks." Then immediately picked Judy up in his arms and started carrying her towards the museum's front doors.

As the two walked away, Wolford glanced at the Chief, "Isn't he the same fox that helped her crack the missing mammal case?"

"I believe so," Bogo replied with a hint of a smile on his face.

"She said he risked his life to save her, I've never heard of a fox risking his life to save a rabbit before. Do you think those two are? I mean they're a bunny and a fox, that wouldn't happen would it?"

Bogo turned his glare on the wolf, "Wolford stop wasting my time. We have still work to do here. Make sure the museum has been cordoned off. Then check with the lab boys and see what they have found out about that pellet gun. I need to get back to the office and start the interrogations."

Wolford stiffened, "Yes, sir," and hurried to get back to work.

Bogo took one more look at Judy and Nick, who were both so deep in conversion that they didn't even notice that the museum's front doors were being held open for them by officers Snarloff and Grizzoli.

* * *

Judy blushed when Nick picked her up and started carrying her towards the front of the museum.

"Nick, I can walk on my own. My leg's not that bad."

"Don't give me that Carrots, you nearly collapsed back there when you got off my back, or do you think I didn't notice that?"

Judy sighed, "I guess not, it's just kind of embarrassing, I used to work with these guys, and they are all staring at us."

"Let them stare. You were, heck you still are, a better cop than any of them. You just solved the biggest case this city has ever seen."

Judy looked at Nick frowning, "You mean we solved the case. Nick, I'm not going to let your involvement get brushed aside this time like it did with the missing mammal case."

Nick sighed, hoping Judy would just forget about, "Don't worry about it Carrots. We can talk about that after we get your leg taken care of."

Judy stared up at Nick knowing he was trying to change the subject, though not sure why. What surprised her was the look of concern she saw in his eyes each time he glanced down at her. She reached up and touched his cheek, "Nick, I'm going to be fine, it's just a small cut."

He smiled down at her, "Of course you are, " though his pace didn't slow.

Judy let her head fall against Nick's chest. It made her feel good knowing that he was concerned for her. It had been so long since she had a real friend. She had been lonely for so long she had almost forgotten what it was like not be lonely. The last time she had felt this way was before leaving for the academy. "God, I'm pathetic," she thought. "Has it really taken me seven months to make a friend? What the hell is wrong with me?" Nick glanced down at her. She didn't know what he may have seen on her face, but it must have been something because he frowned and quickened his pace.

As they were exiting the museum, she noticed his musky scent for the first time. Without thinking, she breathed it in deeply and smiled. God, he smells good. It was strange, even though her leg felt like it was on fire, she didn't want to leave his arms and scent behind as they approached the patrol cars. Her eyes popped open, "Wait a minute, am I falling for Nick?"

Before she could consider it further, Officer Greyclaw came over, interrupting her thoughts.

"Well, it looks like I will be your chauffeur. My cruiser is right over here," as Greyclaw clicked her heels together and tipped her hat to the two mammals with a smile.

Nick and Judy couldn't help but laugh. Judy grinned at the tigress, "Thanks, we appreciate it."

"Are you kidding? If only half the rumors flying around here are real, then it's the least the ZPD can do for you two."

When they reached the cruiser, Officer Greyclaw reached down and gently took Judy from Nick and placed her in the passenger's seat. Nick quickly scrambled up to join her, pulling the passenger seatbelt over both of them. Judy leaned against Nick resting her head on his shoulder. She glanced up, and their eyes met briefly and then she felt them, the butterflies in her stomach. As the car pulled out towards the hospital, she sighed, "So I guess that answers that question. So now what am I going to do about it?"


	2. Of Stitches and Proxies

On arriving at the hospital, Judy was moved quickly into an examination room by an antelope nurse. Nick tried to follow them, but the nurse noticed him and directed him back into the hallway.

The nurse smiled as she watched the fox leave. She noticed that as he exited, he kept glancing at the bunny on the examination table. She turned back to the bunny, "Hi, my name is Jessie, and I will be taking care of you today."

Judy smiled at the antelope, "Hi, I'm Judy."

Jessie shook her hand and walked over to a table and came back with a clipboard full of forms. "Okay, Judy I need you to fill out these forms while I take a look at that leg."

As Jessie went about cutting the bottom of Judy's jeans leg off, she commented, "Well your boyfriend seems pretty worried about you."

Judy was only half paying attention as she filled out the forms replying back, "Uh what, Nick? Yeah, he did seem a little concerned. I don't know why. I keep telling him it's just a small cut. I've had worst growing up on my parent's farm."

As Jessie finished looking at the wound, "Well Judy, it looks like you are going to need some stitches, and unfortunately, you know what that means."

Judy looked up from the paperwork curiously, "No, not really."

Her eye opened wide as she saw what the nurse was holding in her hoof. "My leg is feeling much better now. I'm sure it doesn't need stitches."

"Come on Judy, bunny up, this is necessary."

Judy groaned as she watched as Jessie finished cleaning the wound.

"I feel ridiculous," she complained as she looked down at her newly shaved leg.

Jessie laughed, "If it helps, I can shave the other leg, so they match."

Judy couldn't help but laugh, "I think you have done enough damage already. I'm afraid to ask, how long will it take to grow back?"

With a straight face Jessie replied, "Oh, it shouldn't take more than six or seven months tops."

"WHAT!"

Laughing, Jessie replied, "I'm kidding. It should grow back out in around a month."

"Uh… Nick is going to have a field day with this."

Jessie finished wrapping Judy's leg in a compression bandage. "Well, you're all set, I will put you on the list to have a doctor come by and stitch you up. Unfortunately, it's going to be a while until a prey doctor is available." She glanced at the door where the fox had gone as she thought to herself, Well, it couldn't hurt to ask could it?

"Judy, would you mind having a predator doctor look at your leg? Since the savage attacks started, the hospital has only had them treating other predators, so there's almost always one available."

"Oh, that's fine. I just want to get out here. I swear this has to have been the longest day of my life."

"So are you done with the paperwork?"

"Yes," she replied as she handed the clipboard to the nurse.

Jessie quickly flipped through the forms. "Judy, you didn't fill in any emergency contacts or a medical proxy."

Judy frowned, "Damn, she had caught that." She was hoping that Jessie wouldn't notice. She was sure if she listed her parents, the hospital would call them, and she would never hear the end of it. Thinking quickly, she filled in Nick's name under both sections and signed the form, before handing it back to the nurse.

"Can you have Nick fill out the rest of this please?"

The nurse smiled at her, "Of course," and left the room.

As the nurse exited the exam room, she saw the fox sitting down the hallway typing away on his phone. She glanced at the name on the form, then walked over to the fox, "Mr. Wilde?"

Nick looked up at the nurse and stood, "So how's she doing?"

"She is going to be okay. Judy just needs to get a few stitches. In the meantime, I need you to fill out the rest of this form," as she handed him the clipboard.

"What is it?" Nick asked warily.

"Your girlfriend has listed you as her emergency contact and medical proxy. So just fill in your contact information."

Nick's jaw dropped, "She what?" and then the first part of the statement hit him, "My girlfriend?"

"Yep, she must really love you, to trust you that much."

Nick froze his mouth hanging slack-jawed. He didn't have a clue how to respond to that.

"Just turn in the clipboard to the desk down the hall when you've finished filling it out. I need to get the doctor now."

Nick was stunned as he looked down at the form. His first thought was to do what he always did when dealing with a form, provide false information for everything. Then Nick considered what the nurse had said, and with a sigh, sat down and started filling in his actual contact information. When he finished, he hesitantly turned the clipboard in at the desk. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this?

It was around ten minutes later that the Jessie returned with a panther. As they entered the exam room, the nurse introduced him, "Judy this is Doctor Midnight." The doctor smiled at her and shook her paw, "Nice to meet you, Judy. So let's see what we can do about that leg."

I took half an hour until the doctor was finished working on her leg. "Okay, you're all set Judy, so who will be looking after you while you recover?"

The nurse chuckled, "I'll get him." The nurse opened the door and called to the fox. "Nick, you can come in now."

The doctor was surprised when he saw the fox walk into the room. He looked questioningly at the nurse who only nodded.

As Nick entered, the first thing he looked at was Judy's bandaged leg. He couldn't help grinning as he noticed Judy's shaved leg. As he opened his mouth to comment on it.

Judy interrupted him, "Nick if you want to survive the next 5 minutes, you should think very carefully about the next words that come out of your mouth."

"Ah, Carrots you wound me," as he clutched his chest, "I would never even consider commenting about how styling that sexy shaved leg is."

"Enough Nick, you can make fun of my leg later on."

"Promise?"

Judy couldn't help laughing, "Cut it out Nick, I would like to get out of here sometime today if you don't mind."

"Fine," he said, smiling back at her.

The doctor couldn't help smiling and shaking his head at the two mammal's exchange.

"If you're both done, I need to go over a few things."

"Judy, I want you to spend the next three days in bed and then only limited exercise for the next four days. I'm going to want you back here in a week so we can remove those stitches and check on your progress. Just use an over the counter painkiller like Tygeral or aspirin if your leg bothers you. I am prescribing you both an antibiotic and a muscle relaxant. Make sure you take all of it the antibiotic no matter how good you feel after the first week."

"Take the muscle relaxant for the first three days. It will make you drowsy, which is a good thing. You need to get plenty of rest to allow that leg to heal. While you're taking it, you may need some assistance getting around. We're going to issue you a set of crutches. I know rabbits hate them, but I want you to use them at least until after we have removed the stitches. Lastly, what pharmacy do you use?"

"Well, actually I don't have a pharmacy," she replied.

"Okay, I will have the hospital's pharmacy issue the prescriptions. Jessie, will you please get the prescriptions and crutches before they leave?"

"Of course, doctor."

The doctor looked at the fox, "umm… Mr?"

"Wilde," Jessie supplied.

The doctor nodded, "Okay, Mr. Wilde you are going to have to monitor Judy closely for the first three days. Change the dressings twice a day and keep the injury dry. If she gets a fever or complains of dizziness, then bring her back immediately. Also, and I can't stress it enough, don't let her move around too much while she's healing. Rabbits are very active mammals and make terrible patients when they have a leg injury. They have a tendency to pull their stitches by overdoing it. If she does that, it will take twice as long for that leg to heal."

Nick reached out and shook the panther's paw, "Thanks, doctor. I will keep an eye on her."

"Judy, once you get your prescriptions and we can rustle up a wheelchair, you will be able to check out."

Jessie pushed the wheelchair to the front entrance of the hospital where both Judy and Nick thanked her for her help. Jessie turned as she was leaving "Nick, you take good care of her. Okay?"

Nick nodded, "I will."

Nick moved out of the door and flagged down a cab. Once in the cab, Nick turned to Judy, "Okay, Carrots where do you live?"

Judy cursed and dropped her face into her hands, how could she be so stupid. "I guess the nearest cheap hotel will be all right."

Nick looked at her questioningly.

She sighed, "I kind of moved back to BunnyBurrow when I quit the force, so I don't have any place stay in the city. I was so excited this morning when I learned the truth about the night howlers. I just grabbed my dad's truck drove straight here from my parent's vegetable stand."

Nick looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. "You are not going to be staying at a seedy hotel when you're injured. That is just not going to happen." He turned to the ram in the driver's seat stating, "The Fox Ridge Apartments on Sable Lane."

The driver turned and looked at him, raising his eyebrow, "I'm not wild about going there, that's a predator neighborhood. How about you get out and find yourselves a different cab."

Nick sighed, "There will be an extra twenty in it for you."

"Forty and you pay up front."

Judy heard Nick grumbling under his breath as he reached into his pocket removed sixty dollars from a roll of bills and handed it to the cab driver. "Here, this should cover it." The driver took the money, examining it carefully before nodding and pulling out.

Judy took Nick's hand, "Nick, does that kind of thing happen to you often?"

"It's just one of the joys of being a fox. You learn to live with it."

He settled back into his seat hating that she had to see that. A few minutes later he looked down startled as he realized that he was holding Judy's hand. He thought, now when did that happen? He glanced up and saw she was looking at him. She smiled and squeezed his hand before leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.


	3. A Cold Summers Night

The cab stopped outside the apartment building, and Nick helped Judy out and onto her crutches. As the cab pulled away, she looked at the apartment building. It was a newer building sandwiched between several older apartment buildings. Towering behind it was one of the Zootopia's giant walls. She could hear the faint noise of machinery emanating from it.

Nick saw her looking at the wall, "That's the wall between Downtown and TundraTown. The rent is a lot cheaper if you are willing to live close to one of the city's walls. Come on, let's get you off of that leg."

…

Nick opened the door to the apartment and then followed Judy in.

"Wow. Nick, this place is huge."

"Define huge," as he looked around his apartment. It was a pretty standard apartment. The living room was just big enough to hold a couch a coffee table and a large screen TV. It was open to both a small galley kitchen and a small dining area in which a small table and four chairs just fit. Doors in the back opened to a bathroom and a bedroom.

Judy laughed, "This is probably five times larger than the room I was renting. Wait, you have your own bathroom?" she exclaimed as she moved around taking in the apartment.

"Okay, Carrots, now you're just scaring me what kind of box were you living in?"

Judy laughed, "It wasn't that bad, it was just a room I found a couple of blocks from the station."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I haven't eaten since breakfast. How about dinner?"

"Sounds great, what do you have?"

Nick considered it, "In all honesty, not much and probably nothing a bunny would eat. Do rabbits eat pizza?"

"Of course we do."

"How about I order us a large pizza?"

"Great."

"What do you want on it?"

"Plain is good or any kind of vegetable toppings."

"One large vegetarian coming up."

"Nick, I didn't know foxes ate vegetables."

Nick laughed, "What, did you think that we only subsisted off of the naughty little bunnies that don't listen to their parents?"

Judy laughed, "Well, that's pretty much how my parents explained it to me."

Nick chuckled, "Foxes are omnivores, we can eat pretty much anything. But we do need a lot of protein to stay healthy, which we usually get by eating poultry, fish, insects, and the occasional wayward bunny."

…

They were relaxing on the couch waiting for the pizza to arrive when Judy's phone rang. She looked down to see it was here parents. She turned to Nick, "It's my parents. Not a word about me being in the hospital, my leg or anything else that happened today." She considered a moment, "Actually, it would probably be best if you didn't say anything at all."

Nick waved his paw in acknowledgment.

Judy breathed in deeply and put on a big smile as she answered the phone. "Hey, it's my parents."

"Hey, Jude the Dude, we were just calling to make sure everything was alright," her dad replied.

Nick snickered, "Jude the Dude, priceless…" A swift elbow to his ribs and a glare from Judy were his rewards. Remembering who was still on the phone. She quickly turned back to the phone with her everything is great smile back on her face.

She saw her parent glance at each other briefly before her dad continued, "Did you have any trouble with the truck?"

"No, it got me here safe and sound."

"I'm glad to hear it. I was kind of worried, you know we only use that old thing to move produce between the farm and the stand. If you hadn't run off so quickly this morning, I would have had you take one of the newer trucks. Anyway, just be careful when you drive home. If you have any problems, just call, and I will come pick you up."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Judy, are you on your way home yet?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, actually a couple of things have come up, and I'm going to be staying here with a friend for at least a week. I'm not sure when I will head back, but I will let you know before I do."

"Judy, who's that sitting next to you?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh, that Nick. He's the one I told you about that helped me solve the missing mammal case. He's been helping me again. Say hi, Nick." Judy turned the phone, so it was facing him.

Nick put on his most charming smile and waved briefly to the phone, "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, pleased to meet you."

Nick was surprised when Judy's parents openly returned his smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Nick," replied Bonnie.

Stu replied, "It's nice to be able to put a face to the name. Judy's mentioned you quite often since she moved home."

"She has?"

"Yep, she seemed real upset that.." Judy quickly turned the phone back to face herself and cut her father off.

"Mom, Dad, sorry, but I've got to go. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you, bye," then hung up.

Nick grinned as he leaned towards her, "So just what have you been telling your parents about me?"

Before she could answer, she was saved by the knock on the door.

…

Nick was watching Judy with amazement. Where was she putting it? He knew bunnies had high metabolisms, but this was unbelievable. He was stuffed after eating three slices of pizza. Judy had eaten four, and he could see her eyeing the last slice. He pushed the box towards her, "Go ahead and finish it. I'm full."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, finish it up," Judy took the slice and quickly started eating it.

When she had finished, she leaned back in the chair. "That was great Nick. You can't get pizza like that in BunnyBurrow."

Nick got up and started cleaning up from the meal.

"Let me help," as she began to get up.

"No, you just stay right there. You're supposed to be staying off of that leg. Why don't you lie down in the living room and watch some TV? As soon as I finish here, I have some errands to run."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to get your Dad's truck before it gets towed, and then I'm going for a supply run. You are going to go lie down on the couch."

"Nick, let me go with you. My leg feels fine."

"It feels fine because they shot it full of painkillers, but that's going to wear off soon. Couch go…now," as he pointed to the living room. He chuckled as Judy limped away muttering something about foxes he couldn't quite make out.

After Nick had finished cleaning up, he entered his bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt. He needed a shower, but he didn't have the time if he was going to get to the stores before they closed. Nick looked at the shirt he had taken off with a frowned, reluctantly throwing it in the trash bin. Between jumping off a train and falling into the exhibit, it wasn't salvageable. Luckily, he still had a spare in his closet.

Judy was sitting in the living room flipping through the channels when Nick entered. She smiled and ran her eyes up and down him, "Well look at you, you really clean up nicely Nick. Why do you wear that ridiculous shirt and pants when you can look like this?"

"Ridiculous! I will have you know that shirt is a classic. Besides, none of my mark..uh..customers remember the face, they just remember the shirt. A shirt can easily be changed. It's a little harder to change your face. Anyways, let's put together a list of what you're going to need."

…

After a quick bus ride, he reached the truck. He unlocked it and pushed the bench seat back as far as it would go and climbed in. He was surprised that he fit so well in the driver's seat. He had been more than a little worried that it was going to be too small for him to drive.

He drove several blocks stopping at a drugstore for some rabbit strength Tygeral, bandages, and the various other supplies Judy needed. As Nick got back into the truck, he cursed as he looked at his watch. It was getting late, and he still hadn't gotten her a change of clothes. In truth, Nick had been avoiding it. He wasn't sure what kind of a reaction he was going to get purchasing rabbit clothing, but he was pretty sure it was going to be embarrassing. With a sigh, he drove to a street which had several clothing shops that catered to rabbits.

As drove down the street, he noticed that all of the stores had already closed. He was about to give up when he saw that the lights were on at a store named 'The Bunny Boutique' near the end of the block. He quickly parked and hurried up to the door. He groaned as he passed the store's front window display which contained half a dozen bunny mannequins in various poses all wearing negligees.

Judy, you are going to owe me big time for this. He chuckled to himself as he entered thinking, to boldly go where no fox has gone before.

On entering the store, he was relieved to find that it did sell more than just negligees. It actually had a large assortment of clothing. As he looked around, he felt some relief seeing that the store was nearly empty. He saw a young white bunny at one of the counters. The bunny had four pierced studs going down the right side of her right ear, and the fur between her ears had been dyed jet black. She had a bored expression on her face and was flipping through a magazine.

"Excuse me. Can you help me?"

The bunny looked up and smiled, "Absolutely, what do you need foxy."

Nick saw her name tag and gave her his signature smile, "Well, Cindy, I have a friend who was just in an accident and lost all her luggage, so I need several sets of clothes for her."

"Well, we only sell rabbit apparel here. I can recommend a couple of stores that sell fox clothing."

"Actually, my friend happens to be a bunny."

"So what does she need?"

Nick thought about the list in his pocket and decided there was probably an easier way. He quickly made a video call to Judy. Luckily, she was awake and answered quickly.

"Hi, Nick."

"Hi Carrots, I'm at a clothing store and thought you could tell Cindy here what items you need."

Nick handed Cindy his phone. Over the next half an hour he watched as Cindy walked around the store holding the phone up to various racks and flip through the articles of clothing while occasionally removing an item at Judy's request.

Finally, she came back to the counter and handed him back his phone. He noticed that the call had ended. There were two piles of clothes on the counter. Cindy pointed to the small pile which contained a pair of jean and a few undergarments. "Your friend says she needs these. As for the shirts," as she pointed to the other pile, "she asked that you look at the prices and just pick out a couple for her."

Nick looked at the small pile and shook his head there was only enough there for a couple of days at most. "I think she's going to need more than that. How about getting a couple more pair of jeans and enough underwear to last her at least a week." As Cindy went to get the additional items he flipped through the dozen shirts in the other pile. Half of them were tee shirts the rest were similar to the shirt Judy was currently wearing.

Cindy returned after a couple of minutes with the additional items. She started ringing them up until she came to the shirts.

"So which shirts do you want?"

"She'll take all of them."

Cindy smiled at Nick, "You're going to make my manager's day. Business has been terrible all week." Nick winced as he saw the total on the register, then reached into his wallet and handed Cindy a platinum CheetaBank card.

As Nick gathered the bags together, Cindy leaned over the counter.

"So when's your friend leaving town?"

"Probably in a week."

She reached out and slipped a card into his tee shirt pocket. Her hand lingered on his chest while giving him an impish grin, "When she leaves give me a call, we can go out for a couple of drinks and maybe I can show you my apartment."

"Uh.. sure.. thanks for your help."

Nick shook his head as he got back into the truck, "What is it with me and bunnies today?"

…

It was after eleven when Nick finally made it back to the apartment. As he walked in carrying the bags, he saw Judy curled up sleeping on the couch. He placed the bags of clothing in the bedroom and the items from the pharmacy on the bathroom vanity.

He walked over and shook Judy's shoulder, "Judy, let's get you ready for bed."

She woke and looked around confused, "Nick?"

"Oh, sorry, foxes usually don't use lights. Close your eyes for a moment." Nick walked over and turned on the light switch.

Judy yawned and stretched waiting for her eyes to adjust. After a while, she focused on Nick, "So are the supplies in the truck?"

"I already brought them up. Your clothes are in the bedroom. The rest of the supplies are in the bathroom." He looked at her leg seeing that a little blood had seeped through the bandage, "It looks like we need to change that dressing."

"Okay, but let me get a shower first."

As Judy showered, Nick turned on the TV looking for any news on the night howlers. Unfortunately, it appeared the ZPD still hadn't released any information. After a while, Judy exited the bathroom. Nick's eyes widened as Judy limped over to the couch wearing just a sports bra and a pair of panties.

"Aren't you a little underdressed?"

"Not really, this is what I usually wear to bed." Judy handed Nick the medical supplies before taking a seat on the couch. She then promptly turned and dropped her legs across his lap.

Nick tried to focus on changing the bandage. But his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own and kept drifting up the legs of the half-naked bunny. "Stop it, Nick," he chided himself, "focus, she is going to think you're a pervert."

Judy grinned as she watched Nick change the bandage. She could see he kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. It was good to know that he at least he found her attractive.

Once Nick finished changing the bandage, he got up off the couch. "I'm going to take a quick shower before bed."

A cold one, Nick thought to himself trying not to stare at Judy.

"Since you're the guest you get the bed. I'll take the couch," Judy started to protest but stopped, as Nick gave her a stern look. She could tell he wasn't going to change his mind and conceded the point.

"Fine. Goodnight Nick."

"Goodnight, Carrots"

Judy turned off the lights and climbed into the bed, leaving the bedroom door open.

After a while, Nick exited the bathroom in a pair of boxers. As he stood in the bathroom's light running a towel through the fur on his head,

Judy couldn't help but stare at him. Damn, Nicks hot. He's right, when he was wearing that stupid shirt I never really noticed just how handsome he was. I may need to buy him a replacement. I don't need to have any other females taking an interest in him.

…

Judy woke up shivering and glanced at the alarm clock which read 12:55. Judy tried to determine if she was cold because of the medication, or if it was the apartment. She wasn't sure. Judy got out of the bed and wrapped the blanket around herself. She limped out to the living room and shook Nick awake.

"What?"

"Nick, is it freezing in here or is it me?"

Nick stretched trying to wake up, "Cold?" he pulled the blanket off and then felt it. It was cold in the apartment. He got and stumbled across the room to the thermostat. Seeing that the setting was correct, he walked back to the coffee table and picked up his phone and made a quick call.

"It looks like the heat is out. Building maintenance is aware of it, but don't know how long it will be before it's fixed."

"So why is it so cold? It's the middle of the summer."

"It's one of the reasons the rent is cheap here. The wind usually doesn't blow down from the north, but when it does it blows the cold air from TundraTown over the wall. The temperature can get pretty cold for several blocks out from the wall. Usually, it's not a problem since the building's heated. Go back to bed, Carrots. I'll bring you another blanket."

"Thanks, Nick."

Shortly after she had crawled back into the bed, Nick came in and laid another blanket over her.

"Goodnight, Carrots."

"Goodnight, Nick."

Judy woke, needing to use the bathroom. She checked the alarm clock which read 2:10. It was still freezing in the room, and she didn't want to get out the bed. She cringed at the thought of what the toilet seat would feel like. Damn it, grudgingly she got up wrapping a blanket around herself and made her way to the bathroom.

As she exited the bathroom, it's light illumined the living room, and she could see Nick curled up on the couch. Her eyes narrowed, what the hell, Nick?

She was going to kill him. She limped over to the couch confirming that the dumb fox was lying curled up in a tight ball in his boxers without a blanket.

"Wake up, Nick."

"What is it?"

"Come on, get up, Nick," she could see he was half asleep, but eventually he stood up, and she guided him into the bedroom. She climbed into the bed and pulled him in after her. She straightened the blanket she had been wearing over them. As she burrowed against his chest, Nick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. "Mmmm.. nice warm bunny, this is so much better than the couch."

Judy laughed, "Well, I'm glad one of us is enjoying this, your body is freezing Nick. I'm starting to regret this decision."

"Too bad. I'm not going back to the couch without my portable bunny heater."

Judy chuckled, "Go back to sleep, we'll talk in the morning."

…

Judy lay in Nick's arms, listening to the beat of his heart has she breathed in his scent. Nick had fallen asleep a little while ago. Judy couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy. All she could think was that she wanted to be held like this every night for the rest of her life.

When they exited the museum, she had wondered if she was falling for Nick. On reflection, she had to admit she had started falling for him when he had stood up to Cheif Bogo to save her badge.

She had dated several bucks in high school. But none of them had cared about what she wanted. All of them had expected her to give up on her dream of joining the ZPD and settle down with them. Each time they realized she wasn't willing to do that, they had broken it off with her. Nick was different, he cared about what she wanted, and he was willing to go out of his way to support her.

She now realized that when she had quit the force it had been as much about how she had regretted hurting Nick as it was for the guilt of unknowingly driving a wedge between the cities predators and prey.

Today, he had forgiven her under the bridge even though she knew she had hurt him badly. He had run into danger with her without asking anything in return, and then he had risked his life to save hers. She looked up into Nick's face and smiled. No, she had been wrong, she was not falling for him. The truth was much simpler. She was already in love with him.

She reached up and gently ran her paw along Nick's muzzle, "Well, Mr. Wilde I know what I want now. You may not know it, but you're going to be my fox. You may lead me a chase, but you will learn soon enough that I'm not willing to give up on my dreams."


	4. A City on Edge

Nick awoke and looked around. There was light was leaking into the bedroom from around the blinds, and the room was warm again. So either maintenance had fixed the furnace, or the wind had changed directions. He looked down and smiled, so how had this happened? He was lying on his back, and a now familiar gray bunny was sleeping on top of him. Her legs were straddling his right leg while the rest of her was laying on his stomach and chest.

Feeling the call of nature, he tried to figure out how to best untangling himself from the bunny. He finally just wrapped his arms around her, turned and gently let her slide onto the bed. She began to stir as he slowly got up.

"Nick?" she mumbled out.

"Just going to the bathroom Carrots, go back to sleep. I will be back in a minute," he whispered in her ear. He smiled as he watched her curl up and drift back to sleep.

…

As Nick exited the bathroom, he heard his phone ringing. He rushed to coffee table trying to prevent it from waking Judy. He answered it as quietly as he could, "Hello?"

"Mr. Wilde?"

"Yes."

"This is Chief Bogo," Nick's jaw dropped open. All that flashed through his mind was, how the hell could the Chief of the ZPD possibly have my cell phone number?

"Mr. Wilde, I'm trying to get hold of Judy Hopps, I checked with the hospital regarding her condition, and they had you listed as her emergency contact."

Damn it. Nick was considering walking over to the nearest wall and pounding his head against it. He scolded himself, dumb, dumb, dumb. This is why you don't use your real contact information, so that the Chief of Police can't just call you whenever he feels like it. Finnick is going to laugh his ass off if he ever hears about this.

Bogo continued, "I have tried her number repeatedly, but it keeps going to voicemail. Do you have a way of contacting her?"

Nick looked down at Judy's phone on the coffee table and pressed the power button seeing that nothing happened, "Yeah, it looks like her battery is dead."

There was a long pause on the line then, "Is she with you? I need to talk to her."

"She's asleep. The doctor prescribed bed rest for the next couple days. So I don't want to wake her."

"I understand that Mr. Wilde, but this is important."

Nick seriously considered just hanging up and powering off his phone. But he knew Judy would be angry when she found out, and she would find out when she got her voicemails.

Nick sighed, "Is this your direct number?

"Yes, it is."

"I'll wake her up and have her call you back shortly."

"Thank you, Mr. Wilde."

Nick hung up. He picked up Judy's phone and walked into the kitchen and rummaged in a drawer until he located a spare charger. He set her phone on the counter, plugged it in, and then powered it on. Nick then walked back to the bedroom and knelt next to the bed, so his face was on the same level as Judy's and ran his paw between her ears and spoke gently, "Judy, wake up Judy." He watched as she opened her eyes.

As soon as she saw him, she smiled at him, "Good morning."

"Morning Carrots, I didn't want to wake you, but Chief Buffalo Butt called. He wanted to talk to you. He said it's important."

She reached out while yawning, "Here, hand me the phone."

"Not yet. I told Bogo, you would call him back in a couple of minutes. So why don't you go splash some water on your face and wake up a little, then you can call him back."

Judy had to admit it made sense, "Thanks, Nick."

When Judy came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Nick was waiting for her and handed her his phone. As she placed the call, Nick walked into the living room and turned on the news to see if the ZPD had announced anything yet. A few minutes later, Judy joined him on the couch.

"Nick, we need to go into headquarters at 9:30," as she handed him his phone back.

Nick replied flatly, "Okay," not taking his eyes from the TV.

She could tell from his tone he was not happy about it, "You're not going to argue about it?"

He looked into her eyes, "Will it do any good?"

Judy looked down, "No, probably not."

Nick checked the time on his phone, "Well, it looks like we have a while. I'm going to get changed, then go get us some breakfast."

Judy followed him back into the bedroom. She started going through the bags of clothes he had purchased the previous night, placing them on the bed. "Nick, why did you buy all these? I can't afford them."

"You need them. Besides, I can, so don't worry about it. Consider it a reward for saving the city."

She walked over and hugged him, "Thanks, Nick, I'll pay you back when I can."

He hugged her back, "You're welcome, and no you're not. So go get dressed."

Nick reached into the closet and pulled out his backup Hawaiian shirt, slacks, and tie and placed them on the bed. Judy watched and frowned.

"No."

"What?"

"No, you are not going to wear that stupid outfit to the police station."

"Remember what I said about the outfit? The police station is the one place a person in my line of work doesn't want anyone remembering his face."

"I don't care. It's not going to happen. Judy went over to Nick's closet and started going through it. She pulled out several shirts holding them up in front of him finally deciding on a simple black button down and jeans.

"These will have to do for now, but we are going to get you some better outfits."

Nick looked at the shirt, "Why this one?"

"You look good in black. It brings out the color of your fur."

Nick just shook his head as he bent over to put on the jeans. He noticed Judy had sat down on the bed and was watching him.

"Do you have to watch?"

She smirked at him "Yes, yes I do."

Nick didn't stop dressing, "Shouldn't you be covering those innocent bunny eyes?"

"Whoever said they were innocent?" Nick couldn't help but laugh.

When he finished dressing, he looked at her leg. "Let's change that bandage before I head out."

She was sitting on the bed with her legs across his lap again as he changed the dressing. Judy noticed that Nick wasn't stealing looks at her like he did the previous night. He was openly running his eyes over her as he changed the bandage. She couldn't help but blush. Nick noticed and laughed, "Hey, you're the one who started it."

When he finished, he got up from the bed with a grin, "While I would love to stay and watch you get dressed I think I'll save you any more embarrassment and go down the street to get us some breakfast. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Judy was still blushing on the bed, though she had a smile on her face, "Thanks, Nick."

As he turned to leave, she stopped him.

"Nick, can you bring back a newspaper?"

"Really, Carrots? They still make those?"

"Funny."

He grinned at her, "So do you want to see if your pictures in it again?"

She laughed, "No, I need a copy the want ads. I'm going to find a job and move back to Zootopia." She looked down, "I left several things unresolved when I left, and I want to correct that," her eyes moved back to his.

Before he even thought about it, he was answering. "Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like."

"Thank you, Nick."

…

Nick was halfway back to the apartment when he saw a large group of predators gathering on the other side of the street. What drew his eye was the large number of foxes within the group. It was odd to see this many out during the day. Foxes were nocturnal, so most worked night jobs and slept during the days. He was one of the only foxes he knew that worked days and that was just because had to for his customers.

As he walked past, two foxes left the group and approached him.

"Jim, Ray, what's going on?"

"It's all over the news. The Prey Rights Alliance is holding a rally at City Hall at 10 to demand that all predators be forced out of the city. On top of that, this morning, the Prairie Grocery Stores stopped letting predators into them. Those bastards are trying to drive us out of the city. We've had enough. Those damn prey don't know who they are messing with. The word is going out all over the city, we're gathering as many predators as we can, and we are going to go make the PRA pay," Jim snarled.

"Nick we need you, I was just a kit, but I saw you take down the Sharpfang brothers when they tried to move their extortion racket into Fox Town. Any fox that can take down two wolfs is one we need today."

"Ray, I was young, stupid, and nearly died in that fight."

"You walked away. The brothers didn't."

"More like crawled away," Nick said under his breath, trying hard not to remember that night.

Nick was thinking quickly, this is bad, this is really bad. "I don't know. Let me talk to Finnick about it."

"Do that. We're all meeting at the corner of First and Second streets at 9:45, then we're going to march to City Hall. Bring Finnick, he's one mean little fox and has always been good in a fight."

…

As he walked back towards the apartment, he considered the problem. He had to agree with Jim and Ray that the PRA were a bunch of speciest bastards. He hated everything they stood for and whoever was in charge of the Prairie Stores had to be an idiot. In denying predators' access to the stores, they were violating at least half a dozen civil right laws. While the ZPD would straighten it out eventually, it was probably already too late. They had just poured the gas on the fire, and if something wasn't done fast, the city was going to burn.

The issue was that he was just as angry as the other predators in the city. Hell, if it were ten years ago, he and Finnick would probably be leading the march to City Hall. If it had happened a couple of months ago, he probably would have just gone back to his apartment and waited it out. But ever since he had met Judy, things had changed.

When he had walked away from her after the press conference, he had felt betrayed. He had been sure that he should never have trusted her, but then the next day he wasn't so sure. He had felt more alive during those two days he had spent with her then he had in years.

The day after the conference, he just didn't feel like running the popsicle hustle. He had told Finnick he was taking a break for a couple of days. Those couple days had soon turned into weeks. Weeks in which all he had done was scrutinize every decision he had ever made in his life and think about a particular gray bunny.

He had come to realize he had spent most of his life isolating himself from everyone, even the ones that had loved and cared for him. At the time it had seemed like the right thing to do. If he didn't care what anyone thought of him, then he couldn't be hurt again. But somehow she had gotten to him. Now all he could see was the mess he had made out of his life. For the last few years, he had been going nowhere. It was as if he had just been on autopilot.

He had nearly talked himself into hunting her down when she had suddenly shown up and apologized. She had needed him. Refusing her hadn't even crossed his mind. Now the city was about to tear itself apart, and all he could think of was all of the innocent mammals that would be hurt. The walls he had spent his life building to protect himself were now gone, and there was no going back. Nick realized that there was really only one thing he could do. He stopped, pulled out his phone, and dialed.

"Chief Bogo speaking."

"Chief, this is Nick Wilde we have a problem."

"Mr. Wilde, I understand that you don't want Hopps to …"

"No, not that Chief," as he interrupted him, "if you don't do something quickly, there's going to be a riot at City Hall."

"Okay, Mr. Wilde, you have my attention, please explain."

"I was just approached by a pair of foxes. According to them, the PRA is having a demonstration at City Hall at 10 to demand that all of the predators be thrown out of the city."

"Yes, I am aware of that. While I don't like the PRA, they have the right to protest. Besides, no one takes them seriously."

"Are you also aware that this morning the Prairie Grocery Stores have stop allowing predators in any of their stores?"

Bogo cursed, "No, I was not. Are you sure?"

"No. I just heard it from the foxes, but they are convinced, and they're actively recruiting predators. They're planning on marching to City Hall to teach the PRA a lesson. There were already over 50 predators in the group I saw and it sounded like they were expecting support from other groups. They are all supposed to join up at the corner of First and Second streets at 9:45 then move on to city hall."

"Chief, I really can't blame them. The predators in this city are angry and afraid. Prey outnumbers us 10 to 1. After being blamed for the savage attacks, the PRA demonstration, and now this stupid move by the Prairie stores, we're feeling cornered. A cornered predator won't just lie down and give up. It's not in our nature. When cornered a predator will always turn and lash out with everything its got.

"Damn it. It's probably my fault." Bogo replied, "I recommended to the Mayor to hold off on the press conference as long as possible. We have been trying to locate and capture as many of the conspirators as we can before tipping our hand, and they all go to ground. You know some of these predators. If we meet them at the rally point can we talk to them? Will they listen?"

"I think it's gone too far for that. The only thing I can think of is to try and defuse the situation. You need to immediately notify everyone that the savage attacks were a deliberate act by a prey terrorist group specifically targeting predators. That the terrorists were using a chemical agent to cause their victims to go savage and that the ZPD has destroyed that agent so there won't be any more attacks. If you can get it out before the groups gather together, then maybe they will reconsider marching to City Hall. Even if they do continue to city hall if the PRA learns about the source of the attacks, then maybe they will call off their protest. If only one group shows up at City Hall, then there won't be much of a fight."

Bogo checked his clock, "Mr. Wilde, I doubt we can get a press conference together in time."

"Then call the stations directly or maybe just put it out a statement on the emergency broadcast system. While the information may not be about an emergency, it may be able to prevent one from occurring."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then send every officer you have to City Hall with every tranq-dart you got and pray it is enough."

"Okay, I'm on it. Needless to say, don't come in this morning. We will reschedule after this crisis is over. Where is Hopps?"

"She's at my place. I will be there in a couple of minutes. I'll take care of her. Good luck."

"Thank you, Mr. Wilde."

…

Bogo hung up and immediately pressed an intercom button.

"Clawhauser put out a request to all units. I want to know if any of the patrols are seeing groups of predators gathering. Then locate the nearest units to each of the Prairie Grocery Stores. Have them check on a report that those stores have closed their doors to predators. If it's true, I want to know about it now." He delayed a second, then added, "Also if it is true then have those officers get those stores opened to predators again. They are authorized to arrest the store managers and any employee who refuses to serve any predator."

"Chief, is this for real?"

"I hope not, but I suspect it is. Now get to work."

"Yes, sir."

He pressed another intercom button. "Amy, I need the Mayor on the phone now. Do an emergency break in if necessary. After that contact our media liaison and have him start setting up for an emergency broadcast."

Bogo sat back waiting for the Mayor's call.

"Chief, units 101, 112, and 114 have all reported sightings of large groups of predators. They didn't call it in earlier because the groups weren't doing anything other than milling about."

"Thanks, Clawhauser. Let me know when the units report back from the stores. Also, get the air patrols aloft and have them start monitoring those groups."

"Yes, Sir."

"Sir, the Mayor is on line two."

Bogo sighed as reach for the phone thinking, so how do I explain to her how much I've messed up?

…

"So that is where we stand ma'am. I'm sorry, I didn't see this coming. If you want it, I will turn in my resignation."

"Don't be ridiculous Chief. I agreed with you to delay the press release. Besides, we don't have time to play the blame game. Go with the emergency broadcast, it's pretty clever, I would never have thought of that."

"It wasn't my idea, ma'am. It was Mr. Wilde's. He was also the source of the intel."

"The fox that was working with Officer Hopps that you mentioned yesterday?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

The Mayor laughed, "Well if this works out, I may have to give that fox three metals instead of the two I was originally considering."

"Ma'am, you really should consider evacuating from City Hall in case this doesn't work out."

"Chief, I'm not going to run away on my second day in the office. The ZPD has my complete confidence. Now get to work Chief and keep me informed."

"Yes, Ma'am."

…

Judy smiled from her seat on the couch as Nick entered the apartment. She frowned as she saw the look on his face and watched as he locked the front door behind him. She followed him as he placed the drinks and several bags on the dining room table.

"Nick, what's going on?"

"Trouble, sit down."

He pulled a chair next to her and explained what had happened on his way back and his call to Chief Bogo. As he finished, he saw her close her eyes as the tears started to fall. He had been ready for it and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh, Nick this is my fault."

"Quit saying that. It is not your fault."

"But I..."

"No," he cut her off. "This is Bellwether's fault, not yours."

"But if I had stayed then maybe…"

"If you had stayed you may have never discovered the truth about the night howlers. You did all you could have. Don't keep second guessing yourself."

He held her for several minutes until she regained herself.

"Nick, we should go to the ZPD station so we can help."

"Judy, we are civilians, and you're injured, think of your police training, what are civilians supposed to do in a possible riot situation."

She frowned and answered in a quiet voice, "Find a safe place to hold up and allow the ZPD to do their work."

"Exactly. Now eat some breakfast."

"So, what did you get?"

"Well, since you were a cop I got some donuts," as he opened a bag and handed it to her. She took the bag, but he watched as her ears that were already drooping, drooped a little more.

"I'm not that wild about donuts."

"Okay, then how about a blueberry muffin?"

Her ears came up a little bit, "Yes, please."

He smiled as he handed her the other bag.

It was a few minutes later that they heard the familiar sound announcing an emergency broadcast coming from Judy's phone. A few seconds later the sound came from Nick's phone and the TV. He looked at the message seeing it was what he had discussed earlier with the Chief. The only new thing was that the ZPD would be holding a press conference to provide more details at 11. Checking the time he saw it was 9:30. Half an hour, hopefully, it was enough time for the city to come to its senses.

…

Nick and Judy sat on the couch watching as news anchors discussed and speculated on just what the information from the emergency broadcast meant for the city. Ten o'clock came and went, and there was no news reported about any issues at City Hall. Nick finally began to relax at a quarter after. He glanced at Judy and saw she was still brooding. He picked up the paper and flipped to the want ads.

He grinned as he called out to her, "Judy, quick, get your phone I've found you the perfect job."

"I'm afraid to ask. Just what do you consider to be my perfect job?"

"The Mystic Spring Oasis is looking for a full body masseuse."

"Oh sweet, cheese and crackers," she laughed.

Nick grinned, seeing her ears were finally starting to stand up again, "Come Carrots, you would be perfect for it. I'll tell you what. I know it will be a sacrifice on my part. But I'm willing to let you practice your technique on me until your leg gets better. In fact, my back has been bothering me a bit since we were pushed into that exhibit yesterday so you can start immediately."

Judy chuckled, "Well, it is awfully nice to know you're willing to make these terrible sacrifices for me."

"Of course, that's what friends are for."

She smiled at him. Then after considering briefly, she reached out and pulled him down to her level and planted a kiss on his muzzle.

"Thank you, Nick I needed that."

Nick frowned, considering the kiss. He hated it, but things were going too far. If he didn't put a stop to it now, he knew it would be much harder on Judy. He had promised himself that he wouldn't push people away anymore. But this was different. He wouldn't be doing it to protect himself. He would be doing it to protect her.

"Judy, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"About us. Judy, this can't go any farther."

"Why not? I like you, and I'm pretty sure you like me. Nowadays there are as many interspecies couples as there are gay couples."

"True, but what do all of those interspecies couples have in common?"

He watched as she puzzled out his question.

"Okay, I don't know. What do they all have in common?"

"They are all prey-prey or predator-predator relationships. As far as I'm aware, there has never been a predator-prey relationship before. There is a reason for that. There are simply too many differences between predators and prey. I doubt that kind of relationship can work."

"Well, I disagree. I think if two mammals are in love with each other then they will find a way to make it work no matter the differences. Besides, I was the first rabbit cop ever. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to be the first rabbit to be in a relationship with a fox."

"Judy, there is a lot of my past, I'm not proud of. Heck, who am I kidding? I have screwed up just about everything in my life. I have pushed away and hurt so many mammals so that they couldn't hurt me. You need to find yourself a nice rabbit that can make you happy."

"Nick, I have dated my share of rabbits. My parents were always setting me up with them in a vain hope that I would decide to settle down rather than join the ZPD. Some of those relationships lasted for months, but I never once felt the way I do with you. Since I met you, it's like I found a piece of me that I didn't even know was missing. I am not willing to give that up."

"Judy, you don't know what you're saying we haven't known each other that long."

"My mom told me she knew the first day she met my dad that she was going to marry him. Besides, isn't that the reason for dating? So we can get to know each other better."

Nick stood up and turned his back to her, "And if I tell you that I don't feel the same way."

She got up, walked over to him and ran her hand down his back, "You're going to have to look me in the eye when you say that if you want me to believe you."

Nick's shoulders slumped, "Judy, you are making this hard."

"Good," she chuckled, "eventually you're going to run out of these stupid excuses and see things my way. I'm not going anywhere, Nick." She reached out taking his arm and turned him towards her.

"Tell me the truth, what's the real reason you're hesitating?"

He looked her in the eye, "I don't want you hurt Judy. Everywhere we go, everything we do there will be mammals that won't accept us. My whole life I have been looked down on because I was born a fox. I don't want that for you. You deserve better than that."

"Nick, I have pretty much been an outcast my whole life. Everyone in BunnyBurrow has considered me different because I wanted to be a cop. Every time I entered a room, I would see the odd looks they gave me and when I walked by it was hard not to hear them whispering about me. It hurt, but I was able to handle it because I wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of what I care about. The way I look at it, this will be easier because I won't have to handle this on my own, will I?"

Nick knelt down, so they were eye to eye, "Are you sure about this?"

Judy's only response was to lean in and kiss him. She felt him stiffen at first but, then he relaxed and his arms wrapped around her as he returned the kiss.

On the coffee table, Judy's phone began to ring. "God dammit, not now," she cursed as she pulled away from Nick.

Nick started laughing, "You know I think that's the first time I heard you use an actual curse. I must be rubbing off on you."

She glowered at him, "Just remember where we were. I expect to be picking up exactly where we left off."

She picked up the phone seeing it was Chief Bogo. She took a deep breath, trying to remove the annoyance from her voice and only half succeeding as she answered the phone, "Hello, Judy Hopps speaking."

"Hopps, it looks like things are settling down. We would like you to come in at 1:00." She was wondering who the 'we' was but shrugged it off.

"Sure 1:00 will be all right." Nick had settled back on the couch, and she could see he was not pleased with what she was saying.

"I assume Mr. Wilde is with you?"

"Yes, he's right here."

"Good, we would also like him to come in."

Judy grinned as she looked at Nick, "That's not a problem, I'm sure Nick would love to visit ZPD headquarter and meet everyone." She watched as Nick pantomimed loading a gun, putting it to his head and pulling the trigger. She tried hard not to laugh.

"Good, we will see you both at one."

Judy hung up the phone, then climbed into Nick's lap. "So exactly where were we before we were interrupted?" as she reached out and pulled his muzzle down into the kiss.


	5. Revalations

Nick broke the kiss, gasping for breath. They had been making out on the couch for a while now. Damn bunnies must have a lot of lung capacity he thought as he glanced at the clock on the wall. Judy had started to nuzzle his neck when he had broken off the kiss. As he came back to himself, he realized that at some time, Judy must have unbuttoned his shirt since she was busy running both of her paws through his stomach and chest fur. He ran his paw down the back of her head, stroking her silky fur. "Judy, I hate to break this off, but we are going to need to leave soon if we are going to get some lunch before the meeting."

She briefly pulled away from his neck. "I don't care about lunch. I don't care about the meeting anymore either," as she moved back into his neck.

Nick chuckled, "You say that now. Anyways, I do care about lunch. I haven't had any protein in almost two days. I'm going to need a real meal if I'm going to have my wits about me at the meeting."

Judy sighed as she grudgingly got up off of him, "Come on, let's get ready and go." Judy spent a little while in the bathroom grooming down her fur before exiting. "The bathrooms all yours, Nick."

"I don't need it, let's go."

She looked at him, "Yes you do, get over here, you're not going out like that." She dragged him into the bathroom and had him sit on the toilet.

Nick was confused. He had glanced in the mirror as he went by and while there were a couple of tufts of fur out of place, he didn't see anything wrong.

Judy grabbed the bottle of fur conditioner she had Nick pick up the other night and worked some into the fur on his head and arms then brushed him down. She pulled out a roller and cleaned off of his shirt, then stood back and looked at him. "Well, that will have to do for now. I wish I had time to do your tail, but I guess it will have to wait. Let go."

Nick took a quick look in the mirror as they exited the bathroom noticing that his fur shone from the conditioner and that every strand was perfectly aligned. "What's Finnick going to say when he sees me like this?"

"So where are we going for lunch?"

"The Foxington Dinner. I need to talk to Finnick about a couple of things, so it will make things more convenient."

"He's going to meet us there?"

"No, he works there. He's a short order cook, though I wouldn't mention the short part of that job title to him unless you want to get an ear full."

"Wait, I thought he worked the popsicle hustle with you?"

"He just does the hustle to make some extra money. He usually works from three in the morning till around noon. The hustle only takes a couple of hours in the afternoon."

…

As they entered the diner, they were met at the door by a vixen, "Nick, is that you? You're looking great."

"Hi, Becky we need a table for two."

"Sure thing Nick, right over here," as she guided them to a booth in the corner. Nick was about to sit down across from Judy, but she moved in on the bench and patted the seat next to her. Nick smiled and joined her.

They gave Becky their drink orders, then sat studying the menus. Nick looked over to Judy, "I hope you can find something you will like. The diner is open 24/7. They mostly cater to working foxes at night and in the morning. Then other predators during the day. Although I have seen the occasional prey couple in here."

When Becky returned, Nick ordered a chicken sandwich with fries while Judy ordered a large salad. Becky was about to leave when Nick stopped her knowing just how much Judy could eat. This morning after she had finished her muffin he had noticed she had finished off the five remaining donuts without apparently being aware of it.

"Bring her two large salads to start with."

Becky raised an eyebrow at Nick.

"Trust me, it will save time later."

Nick and Judy spent the time waiting for their meals, discussing the morning's events and speculating on why the Chief wanted to meet with them. After a little while, Becky returned with their meals.

"Do you need anything else?"

"Is Finnick around?"

"Sure, he's still in the back."

"Can you ask him to stop by when he has a moment free?"

"Of course, Nick."

Judy watched as Nick bit into his sandwich.

"Nick, how can you eat that?"

"I can because it tastes sooooo good."

"Nick, you can get the same amount of protein from tofu and other things that haven't been alive."

"Judy, if you are going to date this fox, then you're going to have to get used to the idea that I'm going to eat predator food. I'm sorry, but that's not going to change. It's who and what I am. Besides, I know from the education channel that bunnies are perfectly capable of digesting meat, fish, and insects. You don't see me trying to get you to change your diet do you?"

"No. I suppose not."

"Judy, if we are going to make this work we are going to have to learn to accept each others differences. If it bothers you, just turn away, and I will tell you when I've finished."

"No, it's okay. You're right, I am going to have to get used to it. I'm not going to look away from you every time we have a meal."

Nick was full and without even thinking about it, pushed his half full plate of fries over to Judy, who start alternating between eating them and her second bowl of salad.

Judy was just finishing when Finnick came over. He scrambled up, into the other side of the booth and looked at Nick and Judy.

"So I hear you wanted to see me. Does that mean your break is finally over and you're ready to start working again?"

Finnick saw Judy's puzzled look.

"She doesn't know? Nick looked me up a couple of days after you hauled him away and told me he was taking a break. As far as I'm aware, he hasn't been running any of his hustles since he left with you."

"That's why I'm here. I wanted to let you know. I'm going to be running any of the hustles anymore."

Finnick snorted. "Like that worked so well for you last year when you said you were going to retire. How long did that retirement last? Was it two or three days before you got bored and came back here asking me to run the popsicle hustle again?"

"Well, I'm serious this time. I'm done with all of it."

"So what are you going to do? Nick, I know you have squirreled away a small fortune, but I have never seen you spend a dime of it. You have lived in that same crappy apartment for the past ten years, you don't own a car, you never buy anything, you've never once gone on a vacation, and you have no hobbies. While you have lots of associates, I think I'm the only mammal you ever socialize with, and you only do that when I physically drag you out to a bar a couple of times a month."

"That's not true. I have bought a few toys."

"Well, then you hide them well because I have never seen them."

"Besides, I do have a hobby. I do a lot of reading."

"Nick, reading and memorizing law books so you can figure out ways around those laws is not a hobby. It's just pathetic."

Judy frowned as she listened to Finnick and without thinking about it, took Nick's paw in hers and gently squeezed it.

"Anyways, I'll find something to do. Maybe Carrots and I will open a private investigation service or something." Nick looked over at Judy and saw her considering it with a small smile on her lips.

"Can I wear a trench coat and a fedora?"

Nick laughed, "You watch too many old movies Carrots. But if you want to then sure."

She grinned back at him, "Okay, then I'm in."

Finnick watched the interaction between the two not sure if he liked where this was going.

"Nick, what exactly is she doing here anyways? She a damn cop and the last time I checked, she was blackmailing you into helping her."

"She's not a cop anymore, and since she's now apparently my girlfriend, I'm pretty sure she's going to learn about whatever we say anyways. So it's just quicker this way." Judy beamed at him as he said it.

"Wait a minute Nick. You're dating a rabbit!" Finnick exclaimed loud enough to be heard throughout the whole restaurant.

"Yes, I am."

Nick noticed that the entire restaurant had gone quiet with Finnick's outburst. He swept his gaze around the restaurant. Most of the expressions he saw were ones of shock, though he did see a couple of approval as well as several of disgust. "Well, apparently since the entire diner has joined the conversion. Yes, I am dating a rabbit. Are there any other questions or can we get back to our meal?"

One of the foxes sitting in a booth next to a vixen piped up laughing, "Well since you asked, is it true what they say about rabbits in bed?"

There was a notable 'Oomph' as his mate elbowed him in the ribs.

Nick laughed, "I'm not sure, I will need to do some research and get back to you." Most of the diners erupted into laughter.

He turned back to Judy seeing her ears were bright red. He lowered his voice, "Sorry about that Carrots, but the easiest way to downplay an awkward situation is through humor. If you're mad about it, you can take it out on me when we get home tonight."

Judy glanced around the diner in surprise. After Nick's joke, the entire restaurant had gone back to normal. While there was an occasional glance their way. For the most part, no one seemed to be paying them any attention. She was amazed how easy with a few well-placed words Nick could manipulate other mammals.

Finnick started rubbing his paw against his forehead, "Wait you moved in with her?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Finnick," Nick paused a moment, seeing his friend start to relax before grinning and leaning in towards him. "She moved in with me."

Finnick couldn't help but laugh, "Of course she did. Because that is just so much better."

"Absolutely, that way I didn't need to borrow your van and have you help me move my stuff. I think that was mighty considerate of me. In fact, you should probably be thanking me."

"Fine, my back and I both thank you. But seriously Nick, are you sure about this?"

"Finnick I don't know if this will work out, but I want it to, and I'm going to try my hardest to make sure it does. I'm happy when I'm around her. I can't remember the last time I have felt this happy about anything. It's like for the first time in years I'm actually awake." As he finished, he felt Judy snuggle up against him, and he reached out and wrapped his arm around her."

"Nick, as long as she makes you happy. Then your relationship will always have my support."

"Anyways, Finnick there was another reason I wanted to see you. How much more do you need?"

Finnick sighed, "At least 100 though in reality probably closer to 200 and it's going to take me a lot longer to earn that without the extra income from the hustle. I think it's probably time to give up on my original plan. I probably have enough saved to open a smaller restaurant in a different location."

"Well, I have been thinking about that, what if I give you 300 for a 20 percent stake."

"I told you before Nick. I don't need or want your charity."

"We're not talking charity. We're talking business."

"Nick, you can't put that kind of money in for 20 percent."

"You're right, how about for 10 percent?"

Finnick laughed, shaking his head.

"Look, it's going to be your place. I'll be completely hands off." Nick considered a moment before adding, "Although you can always let me know if you need anything. I still have a lot of connections, so I can probably help in cutting through any red tape if necessary."

"You would do that?"

"Finnick, you're basically my brother. The past couple weeks I have been reexamining my life, and I don't like what I've found. I have made so many mistakes in the past, and I'm trying to correct some of them. I should have made you take the money years ago."

"Okay Nick, for 20 percent."

"Fine, now go tell Fixler you will buy the place. I'll get you the money in the next couple of days. Call me if you need it any sooner or if you end up needing more."

"Thank you, Nick."

"Finnick, you have had my back for 20 years and have never asked for anything. It's high time for me to try and repay that."

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do."

Finnick looked him straight in the eye, "If you want to make it up to me then I have only one request, call your mom."

Judy felt Nick slump in his seat, "What's the point Finnick?"

"The point is, she's your mother, and she loves you. I talk to her every week. When was the last time you did? Was it six months, nine months, a year? Do you even remember?"

"Finnick, you have been there, it's always the same conversion. It always starts off nice enough, but then it always turns to how I have wasted my life and what a disappointment I am to her. Followed by why can't I be more like you and ending in why haven't I found a nice vixen, settled down, and given her the grandkits she wants. After years of that, I just can't deal with it anymore."

"Well, try Nick. She's your mother. I'd give anything to have my mom still around to tell me what a disappointment I am to her. Besides, if you're not going to be hustling anymore and you have a girlfriend, maybe it will be different this time."

"I'm not going to promise anything, but I will consider it."

"Good enough," as he climbed out of the seat and walked back to the kitchen. Just before entering the kitchen he said over his shoulder, "I'll tell her to expect your call."

"Dammit Finnick, that's not was I said." But the little fox was already gone.

…

As they exited the diner and walked towards the truck, Nick spotted a familiar face walking towards the restaurant. "Just a minute Carrots, I want you to meet someone."

He led her over to a middle age fox with a cane who was walking towards the dinner. While the fox's muzzle had a touch of gray in it and he walked with a slight limp, he was still slim and muscular.

"Nick, it's good to see you, it's been a while. Give me a few minutes to relieve Finnick, and you can be about your nefarious deeds."

Nick laughed, "That's not why we were here. We just stopped in for lunch and to talk briefly to Finnick."

"Judy, this is Jack Foskett, but everyone around here everyone just calls him Sarge. He owns the diner."

"Sarge this is…"

"Officer Judy Hopps," he interrupted Nick. "I watch the news, and you're not the only one good at remembering names and faces."

As he shook her hand, "So what's a beautiful bunny like you doing around here, in the company of such a disreputable character?"

Judy grinned, "Well, apparently a certain shifty lowlife has somehow conned me into being his girlfriend."

Sarge smiled and lowered his voice, "You poor thing. If you want, I can try and distract him while you make a run for it."

Judy laughed, "That's okay, I think I'm going to keep him. I consider him a fixer upper."

Sarge laughed, "Judy, he's a tear down and rebuild if I ever saw one. It would probably be easier just to go find another one."

"You two are just freaking hilarious," Nick said in a flat voice while staring at the two laughing mammals.

Judy asked Sarge, "So how long have you known Nick?"

"Oh, since he was maybe 13 or 14. First time I met him, he walked up to the counter with a bloody nose and one of his eyes almost swollen shut. He dropped a hundred dollars on the counter told me he had heard I knew how to fight and he wanted me to teach him."

Judy looked up at Nick, who seemed lost in thought. "So did you?"

"He was persistent and eventually I agreed to. I never had a kit of my own, so I figured why not. Every couple days for years he would show up give me 10 or 20 dollars, and I would spend what time I could spare training him. I tried refusing to take the money, but he always insisted. Nick has never wanted to owe anything to anyone."

Judy saw Nick's shoulders sagged a bit at the comment. She touched his arm, "Nick you never told me you were a boxer."

Sarge laughed, "A boxer? Oh, he's no boxer. I don't know anything about boxing. But I was a Special Forces instructor for five years. I taught him everything I know about fighting. He was the best student I ever trained. I tried for years after he graduated high school to get him to join the service. With his brains and skills, I could have gotten him fast tracked to be an officer, but he wasn't interested. You wouldn't believe how many recruiters I sent after him without success."

Nick shook his head dropping out of his reverie. "Wait, that was you? Dammit, do you realize what a pain in the ass it was constantly being hounded by those recruiters? I changed my number a dozen times, and I never could figure out how they always got my new number. Not to mention all the times they would show up disrupting things when I was trying to work."

"Nick, my heart bleeds for you. Suck it up boy. Don't blame an old fox for wanting to see you do something better with your life than being a street hustler."

"Old fox my ass. You can still kick anyone's butt on this street if you wanted to," Nick paused for a moment, "Sarge, I never once thanked you for what you did for me. I'm sorry about that. I never knew my father. I just wanted you to know that you have been the closest thing to a father I've ever had. Thank you for putting up with me all these years."

Judy saw the look of astonishment on Sarge's face before he pulled Nick into a hug, "That's okay boy. I don't know what happened to you when you were a kit, but you never were one to show your emotions. I've always known how you felt even if you couldn't show it."

After they had separated, Judy could see that Sarge was choked up about what Nick had said. He squeezed Nick's shoulder with his paw, "Well, I do need to relieve Finnick. Nick you know you're always welcome around here." He turned to Judy, "It was nice meeting you, Judy. Try to keep Nick out of trouble."

As Sarge turned and started walking towards the diner, Nick called after him, "Oh Sarge, one more thing, you might want to start looking for a replacement for Finnick."

Sarge turned back and sighed, "Nick, what are you dragging poor Finnick into this time?"

Nick chuckled, "It's nothing like that. I'm giving him the money to reopen his parent's restaurant."

"And he accepted it? I have been trying to convince him to let me loan him the money for years, but he has always refused. I always suspected he wouldn't take it because he didn't want to leave you working the streets by yourself. What's changed?"

Nick froze as chill running down his spine. Could it be true, was he the one that had been holding Finnick back from his dream? It had to be.

Judy looked at Nick with concern. He looked as if someone had punched him in the gut, "Nick, are you alright?"

Sarge looked at him realizing what he had said, "I'm sorry Nick, I shouldn't have said that. You didn't know, did you?"

Nick shook his head and replied in a soft voice, "I told him was going to stop hustling today and then he accepted the money. I'm an idiot. I should have known…" Nick turned and quickly walked back to the truck climbing into the driver's seat.

"Nick?" Judy followed after him as fast as her leg would allow.

As she climbed into the passenger's side, she saw Nick was slumped over the steering wheel tears streaming down his face.

She slid over to him, pulling him to her, "It's alright Nick" as he broke down in her arms.


	6. Concessions

Nick was sitting in the driver's seat of the truck while Judy held him and gently stroked the top of his head with her paw. It had taken him a while to recover. "Nick, it's alright, I can call the Chief and delay the meeting."

He straightened up, pulling away from her, "No, let's just go and get over with it. I'm alright now. Thanks," as he leaned over and kissed her between her ears. "It's just that it looks like I have screwed things up even more that I had thought."

"It's okay, Nick, we can go back to the…"

"No, it's fine Judy. If this meeting is important, then I don't want to be responsible for another issue. I already have too many of those on my conscience."

..

They arrived at the ZPD headquarters building 15 minutes later. As they got out of the truck and started walking towards the building, Nick noticed Judy limping.

"Judy, stop. Where are your crutches?"

"I think I lost them. Besides, I don't need crutches. If that damn doctor at the hospital had been a rabbit, he never would have bothered issuing them. Rabbits don't use crutches."

Nick pointed to the pavement at her feet, "stay" as if she were a disobedient kit then turned and walked back to the truck. He returned a couple of minutes later with the crutches. "You have two choices, either use the crutches, or I carry you into the building which is it going to be?"

A few minutes later they reached the front desk. Judy had been cursing the entire way from the parking lot. After the long walk from the parking lot Nick now saw why Judy didn't want to use the crutches. He wasn't sure what was the cause, different skeletal structure, muscular system, or maybe her center of gravity, but the result was she stumbled almost every time she moved forward. He had had to catch her half a dozen times to prevent her from falling face first into either the black top or entryway floor.

When they reached the front desk, Judy was surprised that the receptionist was a female gazelle who wasn't a police officer. It felt odd not to have the always optimistic Clawhauser at the desk. But it was even stranger to have a civilian there.

"Can I help you?" prompted the receptionist.

Nick stepped up to the desk, "Miss Judy Hopps to see Chief Bogo."

"And you are?"

Nick flashed her a smile "Oh, I'm just her private nurse. I'm here for moral support and to make sure a certain bunny uses her crutches."

"Cut it out, Nick. We are already running late. This is Nicholas Wilde. He's also here to see Chief Bogo."

"Yes, they are expecting you in his office. Do you need directions?"

"No, I know the way," Judy replied.

Judy started moving towards the elevator, but Nick held back a second. "When you say they are expecting us, exactly who do you mean?"

"Oh, both Chief Bogo and the Mayor are waiting for you in his office."

Nick quickly caught up with Judy, "Did you hear who's waiting for us?"

"Yes, what do you make of it?"

"One word, trouble."

"Nick, maybe she just wants to thank us."

"Right… Judy, I'm not sure where you think you are but this is Zootopia. Things are never that simple. If she wanted to thank us, she would have done it quickly and publicly in front of a bunch of cameras. If she wanted to brush this under the rug, she would have had Chief Bogo do it. Remember what you told me happened last time Chief Bogo and a mayor wanted to talk to you?"

Judy frowned, remembering just why she had left the force, "So what do we do?"

"Flee is the first thing that comes to mind. But it's probably too late for that. I'm sure the receptionist has already told them we're here. The only option now is to see what they want and to cover each other's backs. Just remember she's a politician, so don't take anything she says at face value and think very carefully before agreeing to anything."

When they reached Chief Bogo's office, they found the Chief at the door waving them inside. Nick noticed that once they had entered the Chef closed and locked the door behind them, Nick glanced at Judy, who brushed her paw against his leg letting him know she had also heard the door being locked.

Once in the office, they found a white female tiger sitting behind the desk while Chief Bogo walked past them and sat down in a seat that had been set up beside the desk.

Nick growled softly, as he saw the only chairs available were for much larger mammals. The seats were at eye level with him. It seemed pretty rude of them to have not made allowances for Judy when they had known of her injured leg. He was not going to risk further injury by allowing her to try and climb into the chair or by trying to lift her himself. He turned to the Chief and in a flat tone said, "Chief, it looks like you will have to help Judy into her chair unless you are expecting us to sit on the floor."

Nick saw the surprise register in Bogo's eyes as he quickly got up and helped Judy into a chair, "Sorry, you can't believe how busy it has around here over the last 24 hours. I should have thought of that myself."

Once Judy was seated Nick was about to move over to the other chair when Judy slid over to the side. Nick took the hint and climbed up taking a seat next to her.

The Mayor studied the two mammals sitting across from her. It was still kind of hard to believe. A fox and a bunny, two natural enemies working together to solve two of the biggest cases she could remember. And now they chose to sit in the same chair. She had no idea what had happened to bring these two together, but she was glad that it did.

She cleared her throat, "Okay, let's get started. I want to make a couple of things clear. Between Lionheart and Bellwether, they have set predator-prey relationships in this city back years. It's going to be my job to fix that as quickly as possible. The mammal inclusion initiative was my bill. I gave it to Lionheart because I wanted it implemented as soon as possible. While I didn't mind him taking credit for it, I was furious at him when for political reasons. He removed key items that would have helped advance predator-prey relationships within the city."

"Lionheart wasn't aware of it, but because of his gutting of that legislation, I was planning on running against him in the next election. Now, thanks to you two I will be accelerating my plans by three years. Right now I'm only the interim Mayor. There will have to be a new election in a few months. I plan on winning that election and quite simply, willingly or not, you two are going to be crucial in allowing that to happen."

She looked over the desk at the two frowning faces. "Now, since I have been a civil rights lawyer for the past 20 years I am willing to negotiate some concessions. Just be aware I will cheat and use the power of my office if I have to."

Nick laughed and leaned forward in the chair, "So what do you want?"

"First, Judy I need you back on the force. That's not difficult since technically you never left the force. According to Chief Bogo, you never provided a written letter of resignation, and while we can argue the legalities of a verbal resignation, in the end since the ZPD works for me, it's my opinion that counts. As far as I'm concerned, your resignation never happened. What I'll be telling this evening's press conference is that you're leaving the force was merely a ruse and that you went undercover under Chief Bogo's direction to determine the source of the savage attacks."

"Now I suspect it is time for the negotiations to begin. What will it take for you to agree to stay on the force and to back up this story?"

Nick looked at Judy seeing her jaw go slack in surprise. He watched as she considered a moment, then saw her face fill with determination as she looked at him and pulled a piece of paper out of her rear pocket. "I want this," as she handed it to Bogo who passed it to the Mayor.

The Mayor carefully opened the sheet of paper. It had seen better days. It had once been crumpled up. It had been opened and closed so many times it was nearly falling apart, and some of the text was smudged, as if by tears. The Mayor sighed as she looked at the sheet of paper, "You're not going to make this easy on me, are you? I already have plans for Mr. Wilde, and I'm not sure I'm willing to change those plans."

Bogo chuckled as he looked at the ZPD application form sitting on the desk.

Judy felt Nick stiffened as he unexpectedly became the focus of everyone in the room. Nick had no idea what Judy had just given the Mayor. He had merely come here to support Judy, and he had no intention of getting involved any further. "Now I'm not sure what's going on here, but I don't want anything out of this. I'm just a simple law abiding citizen that just happened to help out a friend. In fact, I would prefer that everyone just forget I had any involvement in this matter."

The Mayor grinned and leaned forward, staring at the fox, "And why would that be Mr. Wilde?" She tapped her muzzle as she continued, "Did you know that I had over a dozen mammals investigating you over the last 24 hours? How is it that everyone in this city seems to know you, but no one seems able to provide a detailed description of you other than you always seem to wear an odd shirt and tie? For that matter, how is it that you are apparently so far off of the grid that you don't appear to have a listed residence, any known source of income, and do not seem to pay any bills or taxes? Chief Bogo, how many times?"

"27 Ma'am."

"Thank you, and how is it you have been pulled in by the ZPD 27 times for questioning for a laundry list of reasons but have never once been booked or arrested?"

As she watched, the fox put on a charming smile and leaned forward in his chair, "Well darling, all of these questions can easily be explained…" The Mayor noticed as Judy groaned and covered her face with her paw while settling back into the chair.

"That's enough Mr. Wilde, from what I've heard about you I'm quite sure that not only do you have an explanation for each of those questions. But I suspect if I allowed you to continue. By the time you're done, everyone in this room will probably be convinced that you are the interim Mayor."

"No, Mr. Wilde. No good deed goes unpunished. Whether you want to admit it, you have been instrumental in saving the city at least twice. This city needs to start healing the rift that has grown between predators and prey. I think that what the city needs right now is a pair of heroes that both the predators and prey can get behind. The fact that one of those heroes is predator from one of the most misaligned species in the city couldn't be any better. If it weren't true, I would have been tempted to make it up myself. The news services will eat it up."

"The issue Mr. Wilde is that I had planned on making you the predator hero of Zootopia. By the time I was done, every mammal in the city would not only know your face but also what you have eaten for breakfast for the past ten years. But this, as she tapped the sheet on the desk, "May ruin or at least delay that plan."

Nick casually stretched, edging up in the chair trying to see what it was that Judy had given the Mayor, but to no avail, the chair was too low for him to see over the top of the desk while sitting.

"On top of that," the Mayor continued, "I have no idea what to make of your past. I have so many conflicting reports I'm not sure what would be best for the city. Needless to say, it wouldn't look good after declaring you a hero if something from your past where to come up and we needed to arrest you."

"So this is what we are going to do Mr. Wilde. I am still a licensed attorney. As of now, I'm going to be your lawyer. We are going to go someplace private and discuss all of your past dealings. Everything you tell me will remain privileged. I will then decide what I'm going to do with you. Right now the only thing I'm concerned with is restoring this city. If it is better for the city not to know of your involvement, then I will let you go, and I will have to come to another arraignment with officer Hopps. But if I think it's in the city's best interest to declare you a hero, regardless of your past or your opinion, then that is what is going to happen."

"Now, before you decide just to walk out the door. I'm willing to offer an incentive. I will promise you this. If at any point in the future, you need an attorney regarding anything we discuss, if I'm not the Mayor I will personally represent you for free. If I am the Mayor, I will pay for you to have one of the best legal teams available in the city."

Nick sat considering for a while. He looked at Judy, who gave him a small nod. "Fine. Let's get this get this over with." He got up out of the chair and waited until Chief Bogo had helped Judy down.

Bogo indicated that the conference room down the hall was available and watched as Nick followed the Mayor down the hallway. He turned to Judy, "Since we have no idea how long they will be why don't you go back to your old office and wait. Hopps, if you think you will be coming back, I would appreciate it if you could start on an official report on the Night Howler case."

She looked down the hallway, Nick had gone down, and shrugged, "Sure, why not, I don't have anything else to do, though I will need access to my computer again."

"I have already reinstated it."

He watched as the rabbit limped out of his office carrying her crutches under one arm. He watched in puzzlement as she stopped and entered Fangmeyer's cubicle, which was only half way down the hallway to her cubicle. She stepped out several seconds later without the crutches and continued limping down towards her cubicle.

…

Judy looked at the clock again thinking, what the hell Nick? Two hours! Just how many things have you done that it would take you two hours to discuss them?

She had finished and sent the report to Chief Bogo ten minutes ago. Now she had nothing to do now but stare at the walls of her cubicle and wait. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Judy woke with a start. "What?"

"Easy there Carrots, you were just taking a little nap."

Judy ran her hand over her face, "What time is it?"

"A little after 4:30."

"Wait, you were in there for over three hours?"

"No, we finished just after two hours, but the Mayor wanted to talk to the Cheif. I came to find you and found you sleeping, so I decided to let you rest until they were ready to continue the meeting."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because you needed the rest. You should be home sleeping anyways."

He handed her a cup of coffee, "So wake up a bit and then we will go to Bogo's office." He paused for a moment before adding, "Carrots, I need to know what you gave the Mayor. I can't negotiate when I don't know what the heck you three are talking about."

Judy couldn't meet his eyes not knowing how he would respond. "I, uh, kind of, gave her your ZPD application," and then blurted out, "please don't be mad. I know it was selfish of me to ask for it without talking to you about it first."

She glanced up at him and was relieved to see that at least he wasn't furious with her. Instead, he seemed to be pondering it, "Well, that does explain a few things, and I guess it is an option to consider. Although after our discussion, I'm pretty sure she's probably just going to let me go. I doubt she's going to want to risk making me a ZPD officer or a hero after knowing what she does now. Oh, and Judy, regardless of what happens with me, take your job back. You're a great cop, and the city is going to need cops like you if it's going to get back on its feet."

Judy came over and hugged him, "Thank you, Nick."

Nick hugged her back for several seconds, "Well, Officer Fluff let's go see what she has planned for us."

As they exited the cubicle, Nick reached out and took the crutches he had left leaning against the outside wall of her cubicle, "Here Carrots, somehow these seem to have wandered away from you and ended up in a trash bin down the hall while you were taking your nap." He grinned at her, "To make sure it doesn't happen again. I was kind enough to write your name and my phone number on each, just in case they decided to wander away again."

He chuckled as he walked beside her and listened to her as she continuously cursed him out under her breath as they made their way back to Bogo's office.

…

As they settled back into Bogo's office, the Mayor was already sitting tapping her claws on the desktop. "So, after a long talk with my client, I'm conflicted about what to do."

Judy saw Nick's expression brighten, "So, I can leave?"

The Mayor laughed, "Not by a long shot Mr. Wilde. While you may not be aware of it, I can't think of anything you have done that you can be prosecuted for. Any of the questionable dealings you were involved in happened so long ago, they are way beyond the statutes of limitations. So even if you are guilty of them, you cannot be prosecuted. As for your most recent activities, I'm not even sure where to begin. You have skated on the edge of so many laws and worked so many loopholes it is hard to keep track of all of them. But as far as I can tell you haven't broken any of them. In fact, I'm actually in awe of what you have been doing.

"So, it's the hero option?" Judy beamed as she looked at Nick.

Nick shot her a dark look, "Not helping, Carrots."

"That's where the conflict comes in. What Judy wants would be good for the city, but longer term. I, on the other hand, have more personal interests in mind. Over the next 24 hours, I will be firing all of the mayoral staff. I can't trust any of them since I cannot be sure which ones may have been in league with Bellwether. So, Mr. Wilde, I'm seriously considering making you my new chief of staff."

"What?" Both Bogo and Judy cried out together. They looked at each briefly before turning their gazes back to Nick.

Nick was frowning, "I don't get the joke."

"Oh, I'm not kidding Mr. Wilde. For not being a lawyer, you have a better understanding of the ins and outs of Zootopia's laws than many of the lawyers I have worked with over the years. You also have the uncanny ability to twist the legal system to support anything you need at the time. Lastly, you have the gift to be able to talk anyone into anything and have that mammal believe it was their decision. Those qualities would be invaluable in a political career."

"I knew after the first half hour of our interview you couldn't be prosecuted for anything. The grilling I gave you for the other hour and a half was more of a job interview and to determine just how you had managed to get away with everything you outlined in the first half hour. I would be a fool not to want to take advantage of those abilities."

She smiled at him. It was time to check if her other suspicion about the two was correct, "Besides, you are quite good looking. We would look great together at the various functions we would need to attend." Then she saw it, for just a moment she saw Judy's eyes narrow, and the claws of her paw dig into the arm of the chair. Then her view of Judy was blocked as Nick lurched to the side coughing.

As Nick bent over from a cough, he covered his muzzle with his paw as he whispered so quietly he could barely hear his words. "She's baiting you for some reason. Don't let her get to you."

As Nick resettled himself in the seat, the Mayor could see Judy was now sitting relaxed in the chair giving her an innocent smile. My god, these two work well together, Bellwether and Lionheart didn't stand a chance, and now I'm about to unleash them on the city.

She was already second guessing that decision if she could convince both of them to join her staff she could pretty much guarantee the outcome of the upcoming election. She sighed with regret, regardless of the results of that election. The city was going to need them more.

"Chief Bogo, when does the next class start?"

"In three weeks, Ma'am."

"Well Judy, while it pains me, I am going to give you what you want. Mr. Wilde, you will receive notification in the next couple of days that you have been accepted into the next class at the ZPD Academy. But do not think you're getting off the hook. If you don't show up either at the academy or at my office to take up a staff position, then I will immediately out your fuzzy butt to the press and you can see just how much fun it is to have every aspect of your life dissected under a microscope and broadcast on live TV."

The Mayor settled back into her chair, "So Mr. Wilde, based on Chief Bogo's advice it seems it will be better not to reveal your direct involvement at this time. He believes your training might be compromised if either the instructors or other cadets were to learn that you were involved in the cases. So I want everyone's word that no one will discuss what Mr. Wilde's has done with anyone outside of this room until after he graduates. If the public learns of his involvement before he graduates, then we will need to reassess the situation at that time."

"Oh, and Nick don't think that this means you are getting out of being declared a hero to Zootopia, it is just being delayed. If I am still the mayor when you graduate you will be receiving the same awards as Judy, and your involvement in the cases will be revealed. That's nonnegotiable. This city needs some heroes to help it recover, and at this time it needs a predator hero."

"The biggest issue with all of this is that everyone in the precinct is quite aware that a fox was involved with both investigations, so I'm sure the press will be reporting on it any day. So once that news breaks the cover story will have to be that we pulled in an outside consultant to aid in both cases since there was a possibility that the ZPD was compromised. When it does break, I will be issuing a statement that for personal reasons the consultant has chosen to remain anonymous. If we feed them enough, other information, then maybe they won't spend too much time looking into that aspect of the case."

"Judy, since you are supposed to be out on medical leave anyways. I think I will have the Chief extend it until after Mr. Wilde reports to the academy. The less interaction you have with your fellow officers, the less chance there will be for something to slip out. Since you will officially be recovering from the injuries, you sustained in the line of duty. We will delay the award ceremonies and the prerequisite interviews until after Mr. Wilde leaves."

Nick was shaking his head. "I can see at least half a dozen issues with that plan."

"I know, I know, but unless you have a better one, it's all Bogo and I could come up with on short notice. Hopefully, after a few weeks, the reporters will have found something more interesting to report on."

"Chief, do you have them?"

The Chief walked over and handed Judy an envelope, "Judy, this contains your last several paychecks and a bonus the Mayor insisted on."

He then gave Nick an envelope, "Mr. Wilde this is a series of paychecks backdated to the day that Judy was assigned to the missing mammal case, as well as an additional bonus."

"Really?"

"If we notify the press that we hired a consultant, but there were no records of a consultant on the books someone would eventually notice it, and the cover story would fall apart. Since the investigation is still ongoing, ending your employment now would also look fairly suspicious. So your employment will be maintained until you report to the Academy."

"Carrots, you know what this means don't you? We're officially on a paid vacation for the next three weeks. You're going to need to guide me through this since I've never taken a vacation before. I'm thinking somewhere warm and sandy with easy access to fruity alcoholic beverages with little umbrellas."

Judy just turned and grinned at him.

The Mayor got out of Bogo's chair, "If there isn't anything else I need to get ready for a press conference."

As they were leaving the office, Nick considered a moment, then stopped and turned back to Bogo and the Mayor. "Since it looks like I'm being paid to be a consultant. I have to ask if you have caught Bellwether's agent in the ZPD yet."

"Mr. Wilde, as far as I know she never had anyone in the ZPD. We are only telling the press that to add credibility to the story."

"Oh, you have at least one mammal in this building working for her."

Bogo rubbed his forehead with his hoof. He just knew he was not going to like the answer, "Why do you say that Mr. Wilde?"

"Because of those three rams, you arrested with her yesterday."

"What about them?"

"You're kidding, right? They were all wearing uniforms with Precinct One tabs on them. They also had standard issue badger semi-automatic tranq pistols. Those pistols are custom made for the ZPD. So someone in this precinct had to have provided those to them. I doubt Bellwether could have just walked in here and requested three sets for her friends."

Judy frowned, "Wait, Nick, you're telling me in the less than 20 seconds, we talked to Bellwether before running for our lives, you were able to determine that those rams were wearing ZPD issued uniforms and weapons?"

"What you didn't? Besides, I determined that before you started to talk to her. I wouldn't have let you stop to chat if I had suspected they weren't real ZPD officers."

"Well Chief, you have those weapons and uniforms around here somewhere. You should be able to use them to track down whoever issued them." He thought for a moment, "Unless of course, the ZPD is entirely compromised then those uniforms and weapons have probably already been disposed of. In fact, you may want to check on all of the evidence you have collected regarding the case."

Nick then waved flippantly at the Mayor and Chief Bogo as he turned and walked out the door, pulling Judy with him, "Anyways, have fun finding your agent."

"Come Carrots let's celebrate your reinstatement by stopping somewhere on the way home for dinner. Then, if you're not too tired, maybe we will stop at a store and get some groceries."

"Okay."

"Carrots, stop carrying those crutches and use them or I will be carrying you out to the truck regardless of how much it embarrasses you."

"Fine."

Chief Bogo and the Mayor were staring at each other as they listened to the two walking away down the corridor.

"Is what he said correct?"

"I will have to check on it, but the way my luck has been running this week, it probably is."

"Well your luck is about to get a lot worst Chief, close the door, we need to have a talk," Bogo winced, he knew he was not going to like what was coming.

…

"So Chief, please explain to me why Mr. Wilde has a record in the ZPD database when he hasn't been convicted of a crime." Bogo was looking uncomfortable, "I'm not sure, Ma'am apparently a ZPD officer noted him as a mammal of interest."

"Oh, I'm sure of that, since it was that same officer who brought him in for questioning 27 times. I would like to talk to that officer now."

"That's not possible Ma'am. He retired three months ago."

"Damn it, that figures. I was just about to fire his ass. Bogo let me make this clear, I don't know what the hell has been going on here in the past, but it stops now. Do I need to show you the laws stating that it is illegal to use the ZPD database to track any mammal not convicted of a crime?"

"No Ma'am. I am aware of it."

"Do I need to go over the statutes on how species profiling is illegal?"

"No, Ma'am."

"27 god damn times and you're claiming no one in this precinct was aware of it? Well, I can tell you one thing, we are very lucky that Mr. Wilde has not sued the ZPD over this matter. If I was representing him in court, I can guarantee you he would be walking away with several million dollars in compensation."

"It's simple Chief, if officers in the ZPD are not respecting citizens of this city because of their species, then they don't belong in the ZPD. We can't fix this city if we don't respect its citizens. This is the only warning you're going to get, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I expect you to remove Mr. Wilde's record from the system by the end of the day. I will be checking back with you in a couple of weeks. I want to know exactly how many other records are in the system for mammals that have not been convicted of a crime. Once they are all located, I want them purged. I also expect you to meet with the officers that have created such records that work in this precinct. Make it clear what is expected of them if they are going to continuing to work for the ZPD. Either that or fire them, I don't care which. I will also be discussing this topic with the Chiefs of the other precincts tomorrow, so trust me, you are not the only one that is going to be getting chewed out."

"I understand Ma'am."

"That's all, Chief, now get back to work."

Bogo watched as the Mayor exited his office shaking her head while muttering, "Pulling a citizen in 27 goddamn times just because he's a fox and then we're surprised when we almost have a riot in the city? Unbelievable."

After the Mayor had left his office, Bogo closed the door, and then walked over to the intercom on his desk and pressed a button. He yelled into the device, "Wolford get your ass in my office now and bring the evidence from the Night Howlers case with you."

Bogo sighed, waiting for Wolford to arrive. It was shaping up to be another long night.


	7. Date Night

They had just reached the truck in the ZPD headquarters parking lot when Nick noticed an overweight cheetah walking rapidly towards them pulling a hand truck. "Wait, Judy, " he called out before stopping halfway to them and bending over while raising a single digit of his paw in the air has he tried to catch his breath.

"Judy, on second thought, I may not be ZPD material." As he stared at the cheetah, "I don't think I have the physique required to be a cop."

"Shush you. Ben might hear you," as Judy smiled at the cheetah. "Clawhouser is one of the dispatchers. He drives a desk, not a cruiser. Besides, he's one of the nicest cops I know. He was willing to talk to and help me out when I first joined the force, unlike most of the other officers."

"I see, " Nick replied as he looked at the cheetah, "wait here a minute."

Nick walked over to the cheetah and took the hand truck from him. "Here, let me help you with that big guy. Where are you taking this?"

Clawhouser looked in surprise at the fox, "Oh, thanks, I was bringing those boxes to Judy." Nick glanced at the hand truck it contained several stacked cardboard boxes. Each box had 'Judy Hopps' written on it in magic marker. On top of the cardboard boxes was a metal lock box with a piece of tape also with her name handwritten on it."

"I'm Judy's friend Nick. I'm helping her out until she has a chance to recover," as he reached out and shook the cheetah's paw.

"Ben Clawhauser pleased to meet you, Nick," the cheetah wheezed.

After Clawhauser had regained his breath, Nick walked with him to where Judy was waiting. When Ben reached Judy, he immediately wrapped her in a big hug, "Oh, Judy I missed you so much."

"Hey easy there big guy, remember she is still injured," Nick admonished.

Clawhauser's eyes went wide as he quickly let her go, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Judy smiled at the cheetah, "It's okay, Ben, no harm done."

Nick coughed, looking at her, "She is doing okay, considering her condition."

"Her condition?"

"If you know Judy, then you know how much she downplays things concerning herself. Her injuries are severe enough that she will be out for at least three weeks recovering. The only reason she was here today was to attend an important meeting regarding the savage attacks. Now that the meeting is over, it's straight back to her place and lots of bed rest. Isn't that right, Judy?"

She sighed, remembering the meeting. She didn't like it, but she had agreed to go along with the plan, "Yes, that's correct," as she answered in a quiet voice.

"Well Judy, Chef Bogo asked me to bring you these boxes from storage I think they are your custom ZPD uniforms and equipment. He also gave me the lock box for you. I suspect it's your gun. So does this mean you're coming back to the force?"

Nick couldn't help but smile. The cheetah was bouncing in anticipation of Judy's answer. Nick cleared his throat, making a circling motion with his hand out of Clawhouser's view as he looked into Judy's eyes.

Judy hated this. She hated lying in general, and she hated lying to a friend. She gritted her teeth, then forced a smile on her face, "Well, since it will be reported at this evening's press conference, I never left the ZPD, Ben. I was undercover working to determine the source of the savage attacks."

"Oh.. my.. god.. that is so awesome. Wait till I tell the others."

"Nick interrupted. You should probably wait until after the press conference. You wouldn't want Chief Bogo or the Mayor getting upset by this getting out too early. Besides, how badly Judy is injured should probably remain private don't you think?"

Clawhouser's face took on a somber tone, "Of course, of course, I won't tell anyone."

As Judy got into the passenger side of the truck, Nick quickly unloaded the hand truck placing the boxes in the truck's bed except for the lock box.

Nick turned back to the cheetah and shook his hand, "It was a pleasure meeting you Ben, but I need to get Judy home and tucked into bed. Remember what I said about not telling the others about her condition."

"Absolutely, not a word."

Nick smiled as the cheetah took the empty hand truck and started walking back towards the building. As Nick slid into the truck, he handed Judy the lock box. Judy grinned at him, "You sly fox, how long do you think it will take before everyone in the building knows about the undercover story and my supposed injuries?"

Nick glanced at the cheetah who had stopped halfway back to the building and was furiously typing on his phone.

Nick grinned, "I give it at most another 30 seconds. Then probably less than another 30 minutes before it's leaked to all of the news services, which in this case, will be a good thing. The news services have always trusted leaked information over what's released through the official channels." He chuckled, "When the Mayor gets to the press conference, they will be demanding confirmation of it before she even gets a chance to read her statement. Once she confirms it, they won't even bother to investigate if it's true."

He glanced over at Judy, who was already opening the lock box. She looked like a kit in a candy store, "So is it in there?"

She quickly pulled out a small wooden box, opening it and grinned at its contents.

Nick smiled and wrapped his arms around her, "You know I've never seen a bunny spontaneously explode before, but I suspect it looks something like this right before it happens."

She snuggled herself back against him as she pulled the badge from the wooden box before returning it to the lock box. Her other paw reached out and gently touched the tranq gun before closing and locking the box.

She reached back and pulled Nick's head down beside hers and kissed him on the side of his muzzle. "Thank you, Nick. Being a police officer was my dream since I was a kit. When I walked away, I didn't think I would ever see this again," as she clutched the badge tightly in her paw.

"You don't need to thank me Carrots. You did most of the work. I was just along for the ride."

"Nick, you are such a terrible liar."

"That's not true. I'm an incredible liar," as he rested his muzzle on her shoulder.

They sat in silence for a while. Nick was content just to hold Judy while allowing her to revel in the moment, as she stared down at the badge in her paws. After a few minutes, she reached up and gently stroked his muzzle. Nick leaned into her paw enjoying the feel of her touch. Judy sighed, "Well, I guess we will have to delay that dinner a bit. We are going to have to take these back to the apartment. We can't just leave them in the truck."

"Sure, it's a little early for dinner anyways."

…

When they got back to the apartment building, Nick made several trips carrying the boxes up to the apartment while Judy waited in the truck. When he finished, he asked, "Carrots when are you planning on taking the truck back?"

"I don't know, maybe in a week. Probably not until after I get the stitches out why?"

"What do you want to do with the produce then? It won't last that long."

Judy got out and looked at the several baskets and bags of vegetables in the back that had never made it to her parents' stand, including the case of blueberries Nick had been snacking on the other day.

"I don't know, we can use some of it ourselves, but we're not going to eat all that in a week."

"Well, sort out what you want, and I will take it upstairs." It only took a few minutes for her to sort out a basket. He shook his head. The basket contained more vegetables than he would eat in 2 months, and she planned on it only lasting a week?

"So what are we going to do with the rest?" asked Judy.

"I will put it in the entryway with a sign. Trust me free food never goes to waste in this neighborhood." Nick looked at Judy, noticing she was leaning heavily against the truck and was not her usual energetic self. "You're still tired, aren't you?"

"A little, " as she yawned, "but we can still go out to dinner if you want."

"No, we can put that off for another time. Come on, let's go up to the apartment and get you into bed. You can take a nap, and I will go get some groceries and make us dinner."

"Okay."

When she didn't even attempt to argue about it, he knew she was far more than a little tired. He walked over and picked her up and started carrying her back to the apartment. She didn't protest once. When they reached the apartment, he noticed she was already asleep in his arms. He placed her on the bed and pulled her cell phone and badge from her pockets and placed them on the nightstand.

He thought for a second, then picked up her phone. He sighed when he noticed she didn't have any security settings turned on. Come on Judy you're a cop. You should know better than that. He would have to mention it to her later, but in the meantime, he went to her contacts and entered his name and phone number. As he finished, he saw her stirring, "Nick?"

"Go back to sleep. I just entered my number into your phone. Call me if you need anything. I will be back shortly." He bent down and kissed her on her forehead. He saw her smile before closing her eyes. He quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

…

It was around an hour later when he returned. He saw the door to the bedroom was still closed so he tried to be as quiet as possible as he went about making dinner. While he had no illusions about being a great cook, he had learned enough from Finnick that he was at least competent.

While he had cooked this meal many times in the past, he was a little unsure of how to prepare Judy's portion. He looked in the basket of vegetables and pulled out what he needed. Next, he pulled out his phone and typed in a search and watched a quick video before getting to work.

…

Judy's nose twitched. She stretched as she woke up breathing in deeply. Something smelled good. She sniffed again, no something smelled really good, as her stomach growled at her. She got out of the bed being careful of her leg and limped out to the bathroom.

Before leaving the bathroom, she looked in the mirror and frowned. She took several minutes straightening out her fur. She sighed, looking at her shirt in the mirror, it was a wrinkled mess. She exited the bathroom and went back into the bedroom and changed her shirt. She noticed her badge and cell phone on the end table and picked up her phone vaguely remembering Nick saying something about putting his number into her phone. She checked and saw the new entry. She and smiled as she moved it to the top of her favorites list.

As she exited the bedroom, she noticed for the first time the apartment was only dimly lit. The blinds had been drawn, so there wasn't much light coming in from outside. Nick was sitting on the couch with his eyes glued to his phone's screen. She gasped as the flicker from the dining area drew her attention. The table was set up with a white tablecloth. Plates and silverware were already laid out, and wine glasses were already filled sitting in front of each plate. Multiple candles lit the table, and a vase held fresh flowers.

Noticing her, Nick got up and walked over and wrapping his arms around her, "So, I hope you are hungry."

"Nick, you didn't need to do this."

"My girlfriend gets her dream job back, and you think I'm not going to do something special for her? Just what kind of boyfriend do you think I am?" as he kissed the top of her head.

She smiled up at him as she tried not to cry, "So what's for dinner?"

"We will be starting with salads directly from the Hopp's family farm. Then I will be having chicken parmesan, while you will be having my first attempt at making eggplant parmesan. That will be served with a side of fresh green beans. I also picked up some freshly baked bread from a local bakery and for dessert an apple pie from the same bakery and of course an excellent Merlot wine."

Judy couldn't help it as several tears dropped down her cheeks.

"Come on Carrots, none of that," has he wiped away her tears. "You will get the bread soggy, and nobody wants soggy bread for dinner."

…

They had just finished dessert, and Judy was reminiscing about her days at the Academy when her phone rang. She glanced at it seeing it was her parents. She was having such a good time with Nick, that for the first time, she considered just ignoring their call. Her finger hovered over the 'ignore' icon for several seconds before finally moving over and pressing the 'accept' icon.

She immediately regretted that decision, as her parent's frantic voices spilled out from the phone stumbling over each other. "Judy what happened? What hospital are you at? We are packing now. We will be there in a couple of hours. Didn't we say going to Zootopia was a mistake?"

Judy's jaw dropped, not sure what was going on as her parent continued to demand answers and make comments on why they should have never let her leave BunnyBurrow.

Nick looked at Judy and reached across the table, taking her free paw in his and squeezing it. With his other paw, he turned her phone, so it was facing him them, then barked out harshly, "Quiet." He saw the look of shock on her parent's faces, then in his normal voice said, "Judy is fine. Now everyone, take a deep cleansing breath and let it out slowly. Now, one mammal at a time." As he turned the phone back to Judy seeing that she had an expression somewhere between shock and horror on her face at what he had just done.

Judy quickly recovered and looked at her parent's worried faces. At least they weren't shouting into the phone anymore. "Mom, slowly what's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong? The news is reporting that you were seriously injured working on some case for the ZPD."

Judy winced, remembering the cover story and feeling terrible for not having informed her parents, she had been so tired when they had gotten home she had completely forgotten about it. "Mom, I'm fine. I just got a small cut on my leg yesterday morning that required some stitches. I have had far worse injuries working on the farm."

"Wait, you got hurt yesterday morning, and you didn't tell us when we talked to you last night?"

Judy groaned, pulling one of her ears down over her eyes, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry and overreact."

"Well, that worked out well didn't it?" Her mom huffed, "You scared your father and me half to death. Well, we are coming to get you."

"Mom, there's no need, I'm perfectly safe. I'm staying off my leg, so it should be better in no time."

"Nick, tell my mother that I'm okay." Judy saw the twinkle in Nick's eye and quickly hit the mute icon and pulled the phone to her body blocking the camera. "So help me God, Nick, if you tell them anything other than I'm okay you are going to be sleeping alone on the couch for the rest of your life."

Nick continued to hold her paw while defensively waving the other one while acting completely innocent, "I didn't say anything."

"No, but I know that look, and you were about to. So try and control yourself and reassure my parents."

"Fine. Don't antagonize your parents. Got it," as he grinned at her.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him before turning off the mute control and turning the phone to face him.

Bonnie noticed the audio and video went dead for several seconds and then the camera was facing Nick. Her eyes widened as she looked at the fox not quite believing it was the same one from the previous night. Last night he had been wearing a torn, battered odd shirt and tie and all of his fur had been in disarray. At the time, she had wondered if he had been in a fight or an accident. Now he was neatly dressed, his fur shown and was perfectly combed, and his piercing green eyes practically glowed in the flickering candle light. Wait candle light? She moved her face closer to the screen, studying the image noting the tablecloth, candles, flowers, and half-filled wine glass in front of the fox. At the bottom of the image, she could just make out that the foxes arm was stretched across the table and his paw was holding a familiar gray and white paw in it. Bonnie sighed, thinking, oh Judy why do you always have to choose the most difficult path for everything.

".. so really, it's nothing bad, and she will be back to her usual spry self in no time." Bonnie blushed, realizing she had been so busy examining the image on the phone that she had missed most of what Nick had said.

The camera turned back to Judy. "See Mom, it's like I said, I'm okay."

"So, where are you?"

Bonnie watched as Judy's face broke into a smile, "We are at Nick's place. We were just celebrating. Mom it so great, I just got my job back with the ZPD and Nick has been accepted into the ZPD Academy. I'm hoping that since we will be the only two small mammals on the force, that we will be partners when he graduates.

"Judy a candle lit dinner? So just when were you planning on telling us that you two are a couple?" She watched as her daughter's ear dropped down over her shoulders as she avoided looking at the screen, "Um, maybe next week when we brought the truck back."

"Maybe? Judy, you don't think your parents would want to know about these things?"

"I kind of wanted you two to meet him before I told you."

Bonnie sighed, "Okay Judy, we will meet him next week. In the meantime, take it easy and get better. Let us know if you need anything. Even if we're not available, we can always send one of your brothers to get you."

"Thanks, Mom. Don't worry. Nick is looking after me. We will see you next week. Bye Mom, bye Dad, I love you both".

Nick looked at Judy as she ended the call, "So, I suppose I don't have any say on this trip to meet your family?"

"Don't be ridiculous Nick. You get a say in it. Of course, you're going regardless, but don't let that stop you from speaking your mind," as she smirked at him from across the table.

…

Nick and Judy were sitting on the couch, Nick with his arm around her as she leaned against him as the romantic comedy they had rented ended. Nick stretched and looked at the time. It was getting late. He leaned over and kissed Judy's neck, "So what did you think of our first date? Any chance a particular bunny will return my call if I ask for a second date?"

"I don't know. I'll consider it. But you are kind of a shifty, low life scoundrel and a bunny has to have some standards."

"That's odd," as he slowly planted kisses along her neck on his way to her mouth. "I was pretty sure that it was because I'm a shifty, low life scoundrel that I got the first date," as he kissed her deeply on the mouth.

They kissed for several minutes before Judy finally broke off the kiss. She smiled at him, "So, in answer to your original question. Tonight was the best date I've ever had," as she hugged him.

Nick grinned at her, "Me too. I especially liked the expressions on you and your parents faces when I yelled at them."

Judy laughed, "Of course you did." She got up off the couch and held her paw out to him, "Come on Nick, let's get ready for bed."

They took turns using the bathroom. Judy was just exiting it when she saw Nick remove a pillow and one of the blankets from the bed and start walking towards the living room.

"Nick, what are you doing?"

"What does is look like I'm doing? I'm going to sleep on the couch."

"Nick, stop being a dumb fox. You are not sleeping out there. There is plenty of room in the bed for both of us," as she climbed into the bed. "I slept better last night than I have since I left for the Academy. So get in here, I want to sleep next to my fox."

"Next to?" Nick chuckled, "Judy, last night you ended up using me as a mattress."

Judy grinned, "Well, I have to admit you were a little lumpy but I got used to it."

Nick came back replacing the pillow and blanket. He turned off the light and slid under the sheets. Judy immediately moved over to him, pulling him into a deep kiss. She broke it off after a minute, "So, Nick two questions: Just how tired are you? And more importantly, do you have any protection?"

Nick sighed, "Judy, aren't you rushing things a bit?"

Judy chuckled, "Nick you're the only male I know who would try to talk his way out of getting lucky on a first date."

"Judy, I like you. I just don't want to mess things up with you."

"Nick, I have been waiting a long time for the right male and the right time to do this and tonight is that night, now stop trying to spoil it."

"Oh great, not like there isn't any pressure after dropping that on me. Judy, there are significant physical differences between foxes and rabbits we don't even know if we can…," he was cut off as Judy kissed him again as her paw started moving slowly down his body.

She broke the kiss off after several seconds, "So yes or no, do you have protection?"

"Yes," Nick gasped as her paw slipped beneath his boxers.

"Good, because we are going to spend all night thoroughly investigating those differences," as she pulled him into another passionate kiss.

…

It was early morning, and Cheif Bogo was sitting in front of the Mayor's desk. She was frowning, and the sound of her claws tapping on the desk echoed through the large office, "So what's missing?"

"Two sets of the uniforms, utility belts, and tranq pistols."

"How?"

"I don't know. The evidence was checked into the evidence room, but now it's missing. Surveillance footage shows nothing. No alarms were set off, and there is no indication of any unauthorized access."

"What about the other evidence?"

"It's safe for now. Luckily, Officer Wolford, who is running the case, had all of it locked up in his desk. The only reason the missing items were in the evidence room was that he didn't need them at the time and it's standard practice to place items not being actively investigated there."

"So what you're telling me is it's like Mr. Wilde speculated and that ZPD headquarters may be entirely compromised."

"I wouldn't go that far. But somehow our internal security has been breached. Most likely by one or more mammals working for Bellwether."

"So what do we do? Have only predators guard the evidence and make sure they are in charge of the investigation?"

"It's not that simple. It's always possible predators could be involved. Any mammal can be bribed or blackmailed, at this point, it could be anyone. The only thing I can think of is to lock down the prescient and pull in an outside security company to determine what's wrong with the system and fix it."

"If we do that, what are our chances of finding those responsible?"

"Slim, as soon as we institute a lockdown or pull in a security company, those responsible will know about it, and they will just continue to hide in plain sight. If they don't try anything again, we will probably never find them. But if we don't do something now we risk losing the remaining evidence or having it compromised."

"Even if we do as you suggest, how do we know that whoever's responsible won't do anything drastic to destroy the evidence such as starting a fire or planting a bomb?"

Bogo sighed, "We don't, all we can do is try to secure the building and evidence as best as we can."

"This is unacceptable Chief. While we may have two eye witnesses, that is never going to be enough at the trial of a public figure like Bellwether. We have to have that original recording, case, and pellet gun with her hoof prints on them at the trial. We need all of the evidence that has been collected no matter how trivial it may seem."

"There is no way I'm going to risk having that psycho Bellwether get off due to the lack of evidence. What's worse, if we lose that evidence, then the prosecutors will have no choice but to drop the case. Then that psycho will be right back in this office plotting to tear the city apart again."

The Mayor continued tapping her claws on the desk mulling over the problem. Bogo did not like the smile that suddenly came to her muzzle. "Well, there is always the second option."

"And what would that be?" Bogo asked, dreading the answer.

"I know of two mammals that we know for sure are not compromised. I also know that one of them has an extensive knowledge of security systems. The best part is that both are already on the city's payroll."

"You know they won't do it. I'm certain Mr. Wilde won't allow Judy to work while she's injured and he will probably just resign, it's not like he was hired to do a real job."

"Oh, I think Officer Hopps can probably convince him to help."

"It won't work. We will be throwing the agreement we made with Wilde and Hopps, less than 24 hours ago, out the window. There's no way his identity won't be revealed if he does this."

"Chief, the requirement that the Academy didn't know of his involvement was yours not mine. This is more important. So we are going to write a binding contract that will allow Mr. Wilde to attend the Academy even if his identity is exposed."

"But, Ma'am."

"You feel that strongly, that it will comprise his training?"

"I do."

The Mayor smiled ruthlessly at Bogo, "Fine if you are that concerned about it, and his identity is exposed, then it will be up to you to determine a way for him to receive the proper training. If you can't, then I guess I will have no choice but to temporarily assign you to the Academy for the duration of his training. That way you can personally train Mr. Wilde to meet your lofty standards no matter how long that may take."

The Mayor studied Bogo's stunned expression, "I take it from that look that we are in complete agreement? Good, I'm glad you see it my way.

The Mayor sighed after several seconds regretting making the threat. "Relax, Chief, he's not compromised yet, and unlike you, I'm not convinced that his identity will be exposed doing this. From my discussion with him, I have a pretty good idea of just how resourceful Mr. Wilde can be. There's a good chance he will come up with something so that his identity isn't compromised. In fact, he will probably take it as a personal challenge."

The Mayor had lifted several papers from her desk, changing the subject, "So I was reading Officer Hopp's reports of the two cases and in truth those two mammals kind of scare me. If they had only solved the missing mammal's case, I might have considered it a fluke. But there is no disputing that in less than four hours after returning to the city, those two tracked down the source of the savage attacks, destroyed Bellwether's lab, and then got a recorded confession out of her. That is something the entire ZPD had failed to do, while concentrating all of its resources on it, for weeks."

"I also have a report here from one of my investigators who overheard them talking about the possibility of opening a private investigation service. God only knows what kind of damage those two could cause if not pointed in the right direction. There is no way I'm going to risk them quitting and going off on their own."

"Let me make it clear Chief. The city needs those two. So I will be placing orders into Mr. Wilde's folder the first day he attends the Academy, assigning him to Precinct One to be officer Hopp's partner upon his graduation. That way, even if I lose the upcoming election, that will happen unless the new mayor countermands it."

"But ma'am, even if he graduates, he should not be assigned to work with Officer Hopp's. There's a possibility they are in a personal relationship. The fraternization regulations clearly state that..."

The Mayor interrupted him, "Chief, do you think I'm blind? If those two aren't in a relationship now, then it's only a matter of time. Let me be blunt, I don't care if you catch them screwing in the middle of the ZPD breakroom while the whole precinct is in attendance. They are currently the most effective team, we have, and Mr. Wilde isn't even an officer yet. We can and will overlook their personal relationship unless it directly affects their performance. From what I have witnessed so far, their personal relationship may be why they make such a great team. Your job is simply to keep those two focused and on target.

"So Chief, as soon as we finish putting together this document I expect you to personally go ask for their aid because God help the city if we lose that remaining evidence."


	8. The Morning After

"So soft and fluffy."

"Nick, what are you doing back there?" Judy giggled.

"Nothing," as he grinned. Sunlight was streaming into the bedroom from around the sides of the blinds providing plenty of light in the room. Judy was lying face down naked on top of the sheets with a naked fox snuggled next to her. Nick's head was resting on Judy's lower back. His snout inches from Judy's tail as he gently moved his paw through her tail fur.

"Nick, stop it that tickles," Judy tried to put some authority into her voice but failed miserably, as she couldn't help from laughing.

"Nope. It's my turn," as he continued to caress her tail.

"So just why is a bunny's tail so cute and fluffy," Nick stopped caressing her tail so she could answer.

"It evolved that way to distract predators. In the past, when rabbits were hunted, the white of the tail would draw the predator's attention away from the rabbit's body. When a rabbit made a sharp turn, the predator would lose track of the tail and have to refocus on the body. That gave the rabbit several seconds to try and escape."

"Well, it certainly works. It's definitely, distracting this predator," as he started moving his paw through her tail's fur again. He stopped stroking her tail and grinned mischievously, as he moved his muzzle closer then gently blew through her tail's fur."

Judy gasped at the sensation, "Okay Nick, that's it, you're done. Get up here. I've had enough of you torturing me."

"That's not fair, you're the one who came up with this game, and it's still my turn."

"Fine, you can have an extra turn next time we play. Now get up here."

Nick turned and slowly planted kisses up her spine till he eventually reached the back of her neck. He shifted pulling her close and kissing her deeply on the mouth before breaking the kiss and rolling over onto his back. Judy moved over settling her chin on his chest while looking at his face.

"So are you still concerned that we may not be physically compatible?" she asked with a smirked.

He smiled at her, "I think we laid that matter to rest multiple times, last night." He paused, considering for a moment, "Though, since we may be the first bunny and fox couple we probably should try it at least a couple hundred more times purely for scientific purposes, of course."

Judy laughed, "Of course. Speaking of which," as Judy's paw moved through his chest fur, "are there any condoms left?"

"Unfortunately, no. We used all of them last night. So unless you want to risk it, we are going to have to wait until we can go to a store."

Judy bit her lower lip, "Sorry Nick, but I don't want to risk it. There's an old saying that a female bunny can get pregnant from just having a male look at her. Unfortunately, that is pretty damn close to the truth. While I don't mind the idea of having your kits, I would like to enjoy being a cop for a few years before dealing with becoming a mother."

"Well Carrots, I don't know about you, but I'm famished. I think I'm going to grab a quick shower, then make us some breakfast. How do blueberry pancakes sound?"

She smiled, "Wonderful."

"Well, why don't you rest up a bit and I will let you know when they are ready." Nick kissed her gently before crawling out of bed and heading towards the bathroom.

Judy smiled as she watched the naked fox walk to the bathroom and close the door. Several seconds later she heard the shower turn on. Judy reached for her phone thinking that she should probably check her email, in case the ZPD had sent her anything. Her paw paused over the phone, "Oh to hell, with it." She got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She opened the door, walked over to the tub, pulled the shower curtain back then climbed in closing it behind her.

As she saw Nick in the shower, she burst out laughing. Nick turned towards her quirking an eyebrow. She couldn't stop laughing, "I'm sorry Nick, but you look like a drowned rat."

Nick crossed his arms in mock annoyance, "You don't sound very sorry" as he looked at her. "I will have you know I'm a perfect model of what all male foxes should aspire to."

She couldn't help herself, "Nick, if that's the case, then I'm starting to pity your species."

"Nice, just for that you can wash your own back."

"Oh come on Nick, don't' be like that," as she continued to laugh. "Hand me the shampoo and sit down."

They had turned off the shower and filled the tub. Nick was sitting and enjoying the feel of Judy's paws as she slowly ran them through his fur cleaning him. She was in the middle of doing his back when she suddenly stopped. He felt her pulling and tugging on his fur separating it. He frowned, knowing what she was looking at, though the anger in her voice surprised him.

"Nick, who the hell did this to you?"

Judy was staring at Nick's back. She slowly reached out and traced one of the four scars that had been hidden under his fur, running from his left shoulder blade down to the top of his right buttocks. They had obviously been produced by a large predator's claw.

"Please Carrots, I'd rather not talk about my scars, it's from a time in my life I would just prefer to forget."

Judy's eyes narrowed in the way he had said scars. The way he had said it could have more than one meaning, so she made a guess. She had ice in her voice as she asked, "Where are the other ones, Nick?"

She felt Nick stiffen under her paw. He paused briefly before replying, "There's another set across my chest."

"Show me, " she shifted around in the tub until she was sitting in front of him, then carefully started separating his wet chest fur until another set of claw marks was revealed.

"Nick, how are you even alive? These wounds should have killed you. I can't even guess at how many stitches it would have taken to close all of these."

Nick was frowning, "I wonder about that myself sometimes."

"Okay, explain how you got these."

"Sure. But I'm getting a little water logged here. Let's finish up, and we will discuss it over breakfast."

Judy was about to agree when she caught herself. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the fox. "No, I don't think so. You are too clever of a fox. If I let you delay even a single minute, you are either going to find some excuse or come up with some way to distract me. So we are going to sit right here, and you are going to tell me what happened."

"But Judy the water is getting cold, let's just.."

Judy reached behind her and turned on the hot water valve. "There the water will be hot again in a minutes now stop trying to get out of it and tell me why my boyfr..," she stopped for a moment before continuing, "Why my mate looks like he was run through a meat grinder."

Nick's eyes widened a bit at what she had just called him. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, and Judy just placed a finger over it.

"Now Nick, no more evasion."

He frowned, and finally growled out, "okay," as he settled back in the tub.

He had a resigned expression on his face and paused for a while before beginning, "It happened a couple of years after I graduated from high school. Finnick and I had stopped running the popsicle hustle and were doing some more lucrative things at the time."

"Such as?"

"I would rather not get into the details, let's just say at the time I was a bit of an expert at getting other mammals into and then out of places they weren't supposed to be."

Judy frowned, "I think I want to get into the details."

He shook his head, "Sorry Carrots, that's not going to happen. Let's just say there are some things I did in my past that you don't need to know about. Besides, my lawyer was adamant that I shouldn't discuss it with anyone. So are you going to keep interrupting or can I continue?"

He could see, the annoyance in her expression, but eventually she responded, "Fine. Please continue."

"Anyways, after a couple of years of this activity, I was starting to get a bit of a reputation, which of course went straight to my head." He shook his head. "I was such a cocky, self-assured fox back then."

Judy broke out into laughter, then tried to cover it up. She tried to maintain a straight face, "I'm sorry, but I have a hard time imagining that."

Nick just glared at her a moment, before continuing. "At the time a pack of wolves had decided to run a protection racket in Fox Town. They were roughing up the shop owners and threatening their families."

Nick frowned, "The ZPD was called in, but for whatever reason they did nothing. Then one of the shop owners, that had reported the pack's activities, and his mate were nearly beaten to death in retaliation. I always liked those foxes, and it pissed me off that no one was doing anything about it."

Nick glanced at Judy seeing the anger in her eyes. He reached out and pulled her to him, "So, being the young idiot that I was, I came up with a really, dumb plan. I was going to challenge the pack's leader and kick him out of Fox Town. Setting up the fight was surprisingly easy, though I now suspect that Eric Sharpfang probably just wanted to kill one of us publicly to get the rest to fall in line."

"Anyways, while Sarge taught me how to fight, I wasn't stupid enough to want to take on a wolf three times my size, bare pawed without precautions. So I kind of, cheated."

Judy saw Nick was looking uncomfortable, "Okay, so how did you cheat?"

"Carrots, if you tell anyone about this I will categorically deny it."

She sighed, "What did you do?"

"Before the fight, I may have bumped into a ZPD officer, and a magazine of his tranq darts may have somehow fallen out of his utility belt and into my paw."

"Nick, you didn't!" he could see the shock on her face.

"Don't blame me. The ZPD had months to get rid of the pack, but they did nothing. I considered the magazine as their contribution to getting rid of them."

"Well, needless to say, the fight didn't go quite as I had planned. I palmed a dart and slipped the needle out between my fingers. Then when I first hit Eric, I made sure the dart struck home. The problem was I delayed a little too long trying to get as much tranquilizer into him as I could. When I did pull back, he left me with a parting gift, across the chest," Nick's paw unconsciously moved up, touching his chest.

"I danced around a bit waiting for the tranquilizer to kick in, then attacked again. Eric was slowed down enough that it took me less than a minute to take him down. It really wasn't much of a fight after I used the dart."

"I remember feeling pretty smug when he hit the pavement. But since I was bleeding pretty badly and my chest felt like it was on fire, I decided it was time to leave before I passed out. What I hadn't counted on, was his brother Jason. I was in enough pain and concerned enough about my wounds that I didn't notice him coming up behind me. I had only walked away a couple of steps when I felt his claw slicing open my back."

Judy could see the mixture of emotions on Nick's face. He was trembling, reliving the event as she held him. She gently stroked his fur trying to comfort him has Nick continued. "I'm pretty sure he thought I was just going to collapse from the wounds. I remember the surprise on his face when I turned to him. I was so angry from being attacked from behind. I didn't even give him a chance to defend himself. Before he realized what I was doing, I kicked him with everything I had, shattering his knee. He fell to the ground howling. I remember he was trying to get up when I drove my knee into the side of his head." Nick stopped for a short time before closing his eyes and continuing in a quiet voice. "He was curled in a ball on the ground, and I kept kicking him until he stopped moving."

His ears had folded back, and he was panting in distress at the memory. She wanted to tell Nick to stop. If she had known it was going to tear him up like this, she never would have asked.

"What was left of my shirt was soaked in blood. I remember feeling the blood running down the back of my legs. I knew I was bleeding out and that I was probably going to die," Nick shook his head. Being the cocky fox I was, I turned to the rest of the pack and demanded who was next. But they just turned and walked away, leaving the two brothers lying in the street.

I'm not sure how I managed it, but I staggered half a block and into the nearest alley before collapsing. I remember hearing the ZPD sirens. I knew I was either going to die or spend the rest of my life in jail. The last thing I recall was seeing my blood pooling under me before I passed out.

Judy held him tightly, resting her head against him while stroking his muzzle with her paw. "It's alright Nick. You are okay. That all happened a long time ago, and you survived it." She held him until he stopped shaking. She wanted to know what had happened next, but she didn't want to risk opening any other old wounds now. But she did need to know one thing.

She asks in a quiet voice, "Nick, did you kill that wolf?"

"No, they both survived the fight, although I didn't know it at the time."

"A few weeks after the fight when they were both out of the hospital, they went back to the pack. What they didn't know was that while they were gone another wolf had taken over the leadership. When they showed up, the new leader decided he didn't need the completion and shot both of them. He ended up going away for life for the murders and the pack fell apart."

The water in the tub had grown cold. Judy stood up and helped Nick up, then turned on the shower and quickly finished cleaning and rinsing them both.

They both toweled off and got dressed in silence. Nick was about to leave the bedroom when Judy stopped him, "Nick I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you into telling me that."

He smiled weakly, "It's okay, you would have heard about it eventually and I would rather you heard the truth from me. Then to listen to any of the embellished versions you may hear on the street." He paused a moment before asking as he avoided looking at her, "So are you having second thoughts about this relationship yet? I told you yesterday morning that I have messed up almost everything in my life. By now I think you can see that I was telling you the truth."

Judy took his paw into hers, "Nick, you may be a messed up fox. But you're my messed up fox, and I'm not going to let you go if I can help it. So come on, I seem to remember you promising me pancakes for breakfast."

He smiled in relief and pulled her into a kiss, "If my bunny wants pancakes for breakfast, then she's going to get pancakes for breakfast.

…

Judy was sitting at the table watching as Nick cleaned up after breakfast annoyed that he wouldn't let her help when they heard a knock on the door. Nick walked to the door thinking it was probably Finnick.

Nick opened the door, and his eyes looked straight into the stomach of a ZPD officer. He sighed, "Well, there goes the neighborhood." He looked up confirming who it was. He leaned casually against the door frame and looked back behind the Chief before asking, "So where is your wagon of cookies?" He chuckled as he turned and reentered the apartment, leaving the door open and calling out, "Carrots there's junior ranger scout here for you, do want to buy any cookies?" He grinned as he heard the Chief swearing under his breath.

"Nick cut it out, please come in Chief, what can we do for you?"

As Bogo entered the apartment, he took a quick look around frowning at what he saw. He had hoped to get a little insight into Nick from seeing his home, but now he was even more confused by the fox.

He had been a little surprised when he had driven to the address. While it wasn't the worst neighborhood in Central City, it certainly ranked among them. While the apartment was clean, it was small, and everything in it was dated and well used. The walls were all empty. There were no family photos, memorabilia, movie posters, magazines, knick knacks, nothing. It was like Mr. Wilde didn't own a single personal item that he couldn't carry on his person. The only exception was a small bookcase against one wall filled with, of all things, what appeared to be law books.

The ZPD didn't pay much, but his officers lived in better places and had more possessions than this. Heck, the ZPD safe houses were nicer than this. If Mr. Wilde was as successful as the mayor had hinted at then why would he live here like this? For that matter, why would anyone live like this?

He brought his focus back to the two mammals in the room, "I came here to ask both of you for your assistance."

…

Nick and Judy were sitting on the couch while Chief Bogo sat on the floor since there was no furniture in the apartment that could hold him. The document the Mayor had created was sitting on the coffee table.

As Bogo finished his description of the issue, he was feeling more confident that they would help. Mr. Wilde had been listening intently and nodding through the whole explanation. He had stopped him several times asking several detailed questions regarding the issue. As Bogo finished, he asked, "So, can I count on your support?"

Nick paused, considering a moment before replying. "Ah no, it's out of the question. Chief, do you have a pen?"

Bogo was surprised by the answer and the request. Without thinking about it, Bogo reached into his pocket and handed Nick a pen. He watched as Nick flipped over the Mayor's document and started rapidly writing on the back. Bogo glanced at Hopps seeing her jaw was hanging open, staring at Nick in disbelief.

When Judy had recovered from the surprise, she asked, "Nick, what are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing, I'm writing my resignation. Don't worry. There are several pages here so we can write one for you too."

"Nick, I'm not resigning, and neither are you. We are going to help them."

"No, we're not," Nick stated in a clipped voice.

Judy replied slowly and with authority in her voice, "Yes, we are."

Bogo was feeling awkward as the two small mammals sat glaring at each other. He saw Nick grit his teeth as he asked, "Judy can I have a word with you in the other room?" Bogo watched as the two got up and stalked to a room in the back of the apartment, glaring at each other the whole way.

Nick closed the bedroom door, then turn on to Judy, "We are not doing this. It is too dangerous. If you weren't injured, I might consider it, but you are so it's out of the question. Besides, how can you expect me to trust him? As he started ticking off points on his paw, first he intentionally set you up to fail. He gave you an impossible deadline and provided you with none of the resources available to his other officers then tried to take your badge before it was even up. Two, the first time I met him, he told us that he wouldn't believe anything I said, simply because I was a fox. Three, he was part of that meeting with Bellwether which caused you to quit the force. Four, he's an ass. He had us come in for a meeting knowing you were injured and then didn't even have the decency to provide the correct size chair for you to sit in."

"Now he's here asking us, the only two eyewitnesses, to go back into what he freely admits is a comprised facility. He is effectively painting a target on our backs. So how do we know this isn't a trap? How do we know he isn't working for Bellwether?"

"Please Nick, I trust him."

"Judy you see the good in and trust everyone. I'm not like that, I have lived my whole life in this city, and I only trust three mammals," He looked her in the eyes, "and before you start wondering, yes you are one of those three."

He pulled her into a hug, "Judy, I don't want to lose you doing something stupid. I have enough money saved away. We could go away on vacation, and when we get back, we can start any, kind of business you want."

"Nick, I'm happy being a cop, and while I know you won't admit it, but I know you like to stand up for the little guys. I also know just what you're willing to do to protect the mammals in this city. Please, Nick, Zootopia needs the ZPD and the ZPD need us." She squeezed him, "And I need you," she felt him sag in her arms and knew she had him.

"Okay, I'll do it, but only if you agree to certain conditions."

Judy frowned, "What conditions?"

"You can run the investigation, but I'm in charge of our personal safety. That means no complaints about any of the precautions I deem necessary and trust me there are going to be a bunch that I know you are going to hate. It also means I can override any of your or Chief Bogo's plans if I consider the risk is too high. Lastly, if I decide the risk is too great for either of us, then I can pull the plug on this operation. If I do, we both walk away from it, and you will not protest it."

She considered for a moment, "What kind of precautions?"

"For starters, we are both going in there with vests and armed with real guns, not that stupid toy of yours, where if you have to go up against a large mammal you would have to hit them with multiple darts to put them down."

"Nick you're a civilian, you can't just walk into the ZPD headquarters with a gun unless you want to be arrested or shot. Besides, where are you going to get a vest, they usually need to be custom made for small mammals like us."

Nick grinned, "I already have a vest and as for carrying a gun into the ZPD, I know of a way, and it will be completely legal, so don't worry your little bunny head about it. So do you agree?"

She thought about for a few seconds, before answering, "Okay."

He let her go and pulled back from her, looking into her eyes, "Judy, are you sure about this? If we aren't careful one or both of us could easily end up dead."

Judy joked, "Come on Nick, where is all that bravery you showed in taking on the Sharpfang brothers?"

Nick frowned and sat on the bed, "I think I left a lot of it with my blood in that alley."

Judy sat next to him taking his paw and squeezing it, "That's not true, you're the bravest fox I know."

He gave her a wan smile, "That's not saying much Judy. How many foxes do you know? Like three?"

Judy smiled at him, "Nope, four, and you are definitely the bravest one."

Nick laughed, "Judy you may want to work on your confidence building skills. They seem a little lacking."

Her face turned serious has she reached up with a paw and turned his face to her, "Nick you have been there for me whenever I needed you. When those rams were trying to kill us, and I told you to leave me, you stayed with me and protected me. Nick, you are the bravest mammal I know." She knew she shouldn't tell him, it was too early, and that it may scare him, but she couldn't help it, "It's one of the reasons I fell in love with you." She waited for him to crack a joke or to pull away but to her surprise, he pulled her into a kiss instead.

He broke off the kiss after a minute and continued holding her, "Okay, Judy, let's go tell Chief Buffalo Butt we'll do it.


	9. Precautions

Nick and Judy were back in the living room, sitting on the couch across from Chief Bogo.

Judy looked at Bogo, "Okay, Nick has agreed to help but he..." she paused, trying to find a nice way to put it and not thinking of any, she finally just said, "has some demands."

Bogo quirked an eyebrow, "I'm not used to, having to negotiate with my employees."

Nick growled back, "But you are used to ordering an officer that can barely walk into a dangerous situation or do you just reserve those orders for small mammals?"

Bogo sighed, "No, Mr. Wilde I wouldn't do that. I'm here asking you to do this because we need you. But if either of you don't want to do it, then I understand, and that's okay. So what do you want Mr. Wilde?"

Nick sat studying Bogo for a while before answering, "It's simple Chief, Judy has agreed that I have the final say in regards to our personal safety. You have already admitted, that you don't know who can be trusted at the ZPD. If that's the case, there's no way you can ensure either of our safety once we enter that building. On top of that, Judy's injured. She can't run if she had to and while Judy tries to hide it, she is in pain just standing. So, if I think the situation is getting out of control or that there is too much risk to either of our lives, no matter what you say, we are going to leave. If that requires our resignations then so be it."

Bogo only nodded, "I have no problem with that Mr. Wilde, you are both free to leave anytime you want to. I will not hold that against either one of you. As far as I'm concerned, you are doing this as a favor to the ZPD, so there won't be any need for resignations.

Judy glanced at Nick, "Chief, Nick also wants to be able to .."

Nick took Judy's hand and shook his head, stopping her, "He doesn't need to know about that now."

"But Nick, he should know about .."

"No. We will discuss it later."

Cheif Bogo frowned as he looked at the fox. He would never have made it to where he was if he couldn't read mammals. Judy was easy. She was the model of what a cop should be. Always wanting to be the best she could be, always putting others before herself. But Nick was a complete mystery. He seemed to care about the city, but for some reason appeared to be openly hostile to authority. Bogo considered, or maybe it was just directed at him, though he didn't know why.

Judy leaned forward, "So when do we go in?"

Bogo looked confused, "I was planning on taking us there now."

Nick broke out laughing, "Uh no. That is not going to happen. First of all, I need to get some equipment that we will probably need. Also, you expressed a desire for me not to reveal my identity if possible, while maintaining the existing cover story. I can probably pull that off, but I'll need to get things together for it. Lastly, I would prefer going in when the building has the minimum number of staff and officers around since there will be fewer mammals wondering what we are doing."

"Well, that would probably be around seven this evening. The staff will be at a minimum and the night shift will be out on patrol. I guess we can wait that long. The evidence is relatively secure now."

Nick frowned, "Why do you say that if the building is compromised?"

"I had a safe moved into my office and had the evidence placed in it."

"How many officers do you have guarding your office?"

"None."

Nick's eyes went wide, "Are you insane? You may as well have just left it lying on your desk."

"Mr. Wilde, it's a top of the line safe. I can assure you. The evidence should be perfectly safe until you both arrive."

"Chief, when we get there, I will show you just how wrong you are. In the meantime, please humor me and place a couple of officers on guard duty. I don't want to show up there and find Bellwether sitting at your desk and all of the evidence gone."

"Okay, fine, I will have a couple of officers guard my office, but it will just be advertising that we know that some of the evidence is missing."

"Trust me. I'm sure that whoever is behind this is already aware of that. Oh, and Chief, a quick suggestion on the guards, random predators only, and make sure the guards on duty are not partners."

"Mr. Wilde, are you always this paranoid?"

"Actually, yes I am. It's one of the reasons I'm still alive, and Chief, from now on call me Nick. I don't want my identity blown by someone overhearing my last name."

Bogo got up and headed for the door, "Okay, I will see both of you this evening."

Judy saw Nick gazing at the door, frowning with a faraway look. She reached out to take his paw, "Nick, what's wrong?"

"What if they lose the evidence?"

She squeezed his paw, "We are going to make sure that doesn't happen."

"But what if it does? Heck, it may have already happened."

"If it happens, then we will figure something out."

Judy saw Nick's frown deepen. He got up from the couch and reached out his paw and helped her up. He moved her to the wall near the front door, then stepped back, taking out his phone. "Turn, this way and smile."

She did what he said, and he took her picture, checking it on the phone. He grinned at her, "You look adorable."

She frowned at him.

"What? I didn't call you cute."

"It's the same thing, Nick."

"Carrots, get over it. You're my girlfriend. I'm going to call you adorable and all sorts of other things and yes occasional even cute. It's not because you're a bunny, it's because you're my girlfriend and I care about you."

Judy sighed, "Fine, you get a pass on calling me cute when you want to."

Nick smirked, "Great because you do know you are the cutest fluffy wuffest little bunny I've ever seen don't you?"

"And now the pass is revoked."

Nick laughed, "Nope, that's one of those things you can't take back." He walked over to her and kissed her. "Why don't you watch some TV. I have a couple of calls to make, and then I need to get some paperwork together for tonight."

Judy frowned as Nick started to place a call then exited the apartment, closing the door behind him. Nick, what are you up to now?

….

Judy was flipping through the channels, bored. She had been waiting on Nick for an hour. He had spent a half an hour out in the hallway placing several calls before coming back into the apartment. She looked over at the dining room table. Nick had a laptop open and had set up a printer and had been busy printing something for a while now. She heard the printer stop and Nick removed the small stack of papers. She saw him signed several documents and drop them into a folder before turning to her.

"Carrots, come over here a minute, I need you to sign these."

She limped over to the table and sat down.

Nick handed Judy a pen and then started pointing to locations in the document to sign and initial. He was kind of, surprised that she didn't ask a single question about what she was signing. When she finished, Nick took his turn going through the document signing and initializing it. When he finished it, he dropped it into the folder with several other documents. "Don't you want to know what I just had you sign?"

"Not really, you said we would need this for the operation. That's good enough for me."

Nick sighed, "Judy, you are too trusting. For all you know you may have just signed away all your worldly possessions, your internal organs or god knows what else."

She smiled, then leaned over and kissed him, "Nick, I've told you before, I trust you with my life, do you think I'm not going to trust you when it comes to signing a document? Besides, I don't own much. The most expensive things I own are my cell phone and the clothes you bought for me.

"I come from a large family, so my siblings and I only ever had just what we needed to get by. When I came to Zootopia, I brought everything I owned with me, in a single suitcase." Judy glanced around the apartment. "Besides, it doesn't look like you own much either, other than some furniture."

Nick laughed, "Actually, I don't know if I own it or if it came with the apartment. While I was recovering from that Sharpfang mess, Finnick set this place up for me. I never thought to ask him about the furniture. The only things I bought were the TV, laptop, some books, and my clothes."

"I never had much growing up. I learned you don't need much to survive and that possessions just have a way of tying you down." He looked around, "I could walk out of here now leaving everything behind and not care if I ever came back."

"Nick, that's not healthy. Everyone needs a place they consider home."

Nick shrugged, "Maybe I will have that someday. For now, the closest thing I have are the streets of Zootopia. I have spent more time out there than I ever have in here."

Nick frowned as he looked out the window behind Judy, it's only view, that of the city's wall less than a block away. "Judy, I think we are going to go look for a new place to live before I leave for the Academy."

"Why? This place is a lot nicer than my last place."

"Because we can afford a better place and I think it would be better if we lived closer to the ZPD station. Without a car, it will take you quite a while to get to the station, since it will require switching between multiple buses and train lines. It would be more convenient if we found some place either in walking distance or with a direct train line to the station."

He hoped she would buy that explanation. He didn't want to get into an argument over the real reason. While he had grown up in a neighborhood like this one, there were way too many things that could happen to a female bunny walking alone even if she was a cop. He sighed, who was he kidding? In this neighborhood, those things would happen to her because she was a cop. There was no way in hell he was going to let her walk around this neighborhood unless he was standing next to her.

He was relieved when she shrugged. "It's your place, Nick, if that's what you want to do then it's okay with me."

"Good, we will see what's available after we get this mess straightened out. Speaking of which, put on your vest and get your gun. We have a lot of stops to make before this evening."

…

Nick was waiting at the door when Judy came out of the bedroom carrying the lock box. Nick shook his head. He could just make out her vest under her shirt. It was a little too thick and her shirt wasn't loose enough to fully hide it, while someone may not notice it with a cursory glance, it was noticeable if you were looking for it. Well, there is nothing that could be done about it now.

He glanced at the lock box, "Judy we are not taking the box. You're a cop. I thought it was standard practice to carry your gun and badge even when off duty."

Judy blushed, "It is, but I haven't been off duty much as a cop." She opened the lock box removed the tranq gun, then tried to determine what to do with it, since she had never gotten around to purchasing a holster for it when off duty. She decided to just tuck it in her jeans in the small of her back next to her tail when Nick stopped her.

"Uh. No. I told you before you're not taking that toy. Nick looked in the box fighting back the urge to growl, "Judy, where's your gun?"

She didn't meet his eyes, "Well, actually I was kind of, never issued one."

She glanced up and caught the flash of anger in Nick's eyes. "Wait, that asshole Bogo had you working a case without having a gun to protect yourself?"

"Nick, I don't know if he knew. Besides, I have the tranq gun. It will be all right."

"Don't try to con me, Judy. I may not be a cop, but I'm well aware that there's a day and night difference between a tranq gun and a real gun. A tranq gun is great if you're going up against an unarmed drunken mammal. But it's useless if you go up against someone with a gun. If you shot me with a tranq dart, heck, if you emptied the whole magazine into me, I would still be able to draw my weapon and empty it into you before the darts knocked me out. Whoever failed to issue you a gun should be fired. They sent you out to die."

"Nick, it's not like that."

"Fine, then explain it to me."

"The problem is that I'm the first small mammal officer and the ZPD bureaucracy hasn't caught up yet. The ZPD is only authorized to purchase several different guns for its officers. The issue is the smallest pistol available is far too large for me. I would never be able to draw it fast if I had too, and the kickback would probably knock me on my butt."

Nick had his palm over his eyes and was rubbing temples, most of the anger having drained away, "Okay, then how did you pass the Academy? You had to have been training using something."

"The Academy purchased several smaller guns specifically for my training. But it's the ZPD precinct that issues officers their weapons. Unfortunately, whatever committee determines which guns the ZPD purchases still hasn't decided on what make and model to buy for small mammals."

"Okay, given all that, why didn't you just go out and purchase one? I'm pretty sure officers are allowed to do that."

He removed his paw from his face and looked at Judy, who was staring at her feet her ears bright red as she answered in a quiet voice, "I didn't have the money. I was hoping I could save up enough after a couple of months on the job."

Nick shook his head, "Okay, change of plans, leave the tranq gun here. We are going to add gun shopping to the top of the list of things we need to do today. I'm not sure about the wait time on guns for ZPD officers, but worst comes to worst, I will give you one of mine.

Judy's face broke into a grin, "Hang on," she limped into the bedroom and came back with two envelopes handing one to Nick and opening the other one. "I may have enough now." She flipped through several checks till she reached the last one, "Sweet cheese and crackers."

Nick looked at the bunny that was quite literally bouncing on her feet.

"Nick, the bonus check they gave me is for twenty thousand dollars! That is almost a third of my annual salary!"

Nick chuckled and hugged her, "Congratulations, I guess. Though I'm not sure whether to be happy for you about your bonus or depressed knowing how little the city pays you."

"I mean, wow. I thought the city might have given me a couple of hundred dollars, but I wasn't expecting this."

"Judy, I hate to burst your bubble, but there is a reason they gave you so much."

"Really, why?"

"They want you on the force. It's a little thing us regular folks call a bribe." Nick couldn't help himself, "Or in your case, a carrot on a stick."

"Oh great, a bunny joke, har, har," as Judy replied in a flat voice.

"I thought it was funny."

"You would. Well, how much did the city give you?"

Nick hadn't bothered opening his envelope, "You probably don't want to know. The Mayor for all of her blustering has no hold on me. But she does want me to stay quiet and go along with her plans. So I suspect there is a significantly larger bribe in mine."

"Nick, I'm sure you're wrong, the city doesn't work that way." She took Nick's envelope from him and opened it.

He reached out closing his paw over hers. "I'm serious Carrots. You don't want to see what is in there. Zootopia is not the idyllic place you want to think it is."

She had thought he had been kidding, but now she wasn't sure. She removed his paw and removed the checks from the envelope. She frowned as she saw three checks made out for ten thousand dollars each and a final check made out for fifty thousand dollars.

She wanted to cry, "You were right. I didn't want to see this. Why didn't you stop me?"

"Because if you are going to be a cop in this city, you need to learn what you're dealing with."

"We should return these."

"Why? They are perfectly legal, and I'm sure they in the city's computers as paychecks and bonuses. I just wanted you to be aware of what is going on. In Zootopia, everyone has their own agenda including Chief Bogo and the city officials, and those agendas are not always for the benefit of the citizens of Zootopia."

He saw that Judy was looking depressed knowing that the trust she had had just moments before in the city officials was now gone. He hugged her, "You know what the real tragedy here is, don't you Carrots?"

"What?'

"This means for the first time. There's an actual record of me earning an income in this city, and unless I can figure a way around it, I may have to pay taxes this year."

Judy chuckled, looking up at him, "That would be a terrible thing wouldn't. The next thing you know, you may actually turn into a domesticated fox."

"Bite your tongue. That will never happen."

She pulled him down and kissed him passionately.

She broke the kiss and smiled at him, "Never?"

"Okay, probably never," as he pulled her into another kiss.

…

As they were leaving the apartment, Nick's phone rang. He answered it without checking who was calling. "Hello?"

"Mr. Wilde?"

"Look, I'm not interested in buying anything."

The voice on the line chuckled, "That's okay because I'm not selling anything. My name is Simon Whitetail and the Mayor would like a brief meeting with you and Officer Hopps."

"That's fine. I needed to see the Mayor anyways. When does she want to see us?"

The voice laughed, "Knowing her, an hour ago. But the real answer is whenever you can get here."

"We can probably be there in around 20 minutes."

"That will be all right."

"Uh, if you don't mind my asking, how did you get this number?"

"It's in the city employee directory, of course."

Nick groaned, "Of course it is. Thanks."

Nick hung up the phone. "Judy, do me a favor tonight and look the other way when I accidentally shoot a particular water buffalo."

"Nick, you're not going to shoot my boss. I'm pretty sure if you did that would probably negatively affect my chances for a promotion. So who was on the phone?"

"The mayor's office, it looks like yet another change in plans, I guess we need to go have a chat with the Mayor first."

….

The Mayor smiled at Nick and Judy as they entered her office, "Just the two mammals I wanted to see."

Nick stopped her before she could continue, "Actually, before getting into why you wanted to see us, I have a document I need you to sign. Otherwise, we may as well leave now."

The Mayor chuckled, "Mr. Wilde are you actually trying to blackmail the Mayor of Zootopia?"

Nick grinned, "Not at all, I'm just saying we aren't stepping foot in that building unless you sign this document. Being the Mayor, I'm sure you have plenty of other mammals you can use to straighten out this mess. It's not my fault you don't trust any of them."

The Mayor laughed, "Okay, Mr. Wilde, let me see what you want."

She looked at the document, then shook her head, "Let's see the rest of them." Nick handed her the folder, and she flipped through the documents. "Nick, are you sure you don't want to be my chief of staff? I really could use someone as devious as you are on the team. The city council wouldn't know what hit them."

Judy was quick to answer for him, "No, we already discussed this, he is going to be a cop."

"Nick, you do realize Chief Bogo is probably going to have a meltdown when he sees this. He may throw both of you out of the building."

"I don't care. I'm not letting Judy go in there if I can't protect her."

The Mayor pressed the intercom, "Simon, come in here please."

After a minute a bunny in a business suit came in, "Catherine this has better be important, you have no idea how busy I am."

"Nick, Judy, this is Simon Whitetail, he's the new interim assistant mayor."

The bunny frowned, "Since when?"

"Oh, about 10 seconds ago. Anyway, Simon please review these," as she handed him the folder, "will these hold up in court if necessary?"

Simon flipped through the forms and smiled, "This is clever. Why the hell didn't we think of this?"

"Don't rub it in Simon, I agree we should have. Well, will it hold up in court?"

"They should, but to be on the safe side, I think we should rewrite it so that the city is paying for Mr. Wilde's services instead of Officer Hopps, that way there would be no question. It will also lend itself quite nicely to that consultant story you and Bogo came up with. Forget about this waiver, though. We should just issue Mr. Wilde a class A license instead of his current class C license. That way we could use his services anywhere we need to and a waiver wouldn't be required. Give me a couple of hours, and I will have it all straightened out." He looked at Nick, "I assume you won't have any issues with signing a few backdated documents?"

Nick laughed, "Not at all."

Judy was frowning. She had no idea what they were talking about. Maybe she should have asked Nick about that document he had had her sign.

As Simon left the room, the Mayor took a seat at her desk and smiled at the two mammals. "Now that we have that straighten out, the reason I wanted to see you is that I have one other little item I want you two to take care of while you are fixing things at the headquarters building…"

…

Nick was cursing as he helped Judy down the stairs in front of city hall, "Well, this is just getting better and better. How the hell are we supposed to do that?"

"You will think of something, Nick."

"Wait a minute. How did this just become my problem? I didn't want to be involved in this in the first place. In fact, I still think we should just forget about it and take that vacation.

Judy smiled, "Two reasons, first since I'm in charge of the investigation I'm designating it as a personal safety issue which I believe you have insisted you are in charge of and second you're the conman of this team. Just think of it as another con."

Nick stopped placing his paws on his hips and stared at her, "Judy the reason I went back to the cons is that with the ones I pulled, you don't end up dead or in jail. What the Mayor wants, on the other paw, is just asking for one of us to be killed. Judy, you're the one they're talking about in the news. If they target one of us, it's probably going to be you." He reached out to gently cup her cheek in his paw, "I've just found you. I don't want to risk losing you."

Judy reached up squeezing his paw, "Nick, I promise nothing is going to happen to me, and someday we are going to go on that vacation together." She reached out and pulled him down to her level and kissed him enjoying the feel as Nick returned the kiss.

They started moving down the stairs again holding each other closely and ignoring the half a dozen mammals that had stopped to stare at them.

…

Judy had started walking up to the front counter at the bank when Nick stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"To cash my checks, where do you think?"

Nick shook his head, "Not that way, follow me." She followed Nick as he walked towards a desk near the offices in the back. They hadn't even reached the desk before an otter in one of the offices noticed them and quickly made his way towards them.

"Mr. Wilde, it's so good to see you again," as he took Nick's paw and shook it.

"Larry, how's the wife and kits?"

The otter smiled, They are all doing well."

"So how's Finnick? I haven't seen him for several weeks."

"He's good. He's actually one of the reasons we are here."

The otter smiled up at Judy, "And this is?"

"This is my girlfriend, Judy Hopps."

The otter shook her paw, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Well, come back to my office, and we will take a care of whatever you need."

When they were all seated, Nick took out the envelope with the checks from the city. First, I need to cash several checks and deposit some funds."

"Of course, to which one of your Fox Province accounts?"

Judy frowned as she looked at Nick. Everyone knew of Fox Province accounts. The Fox Provinces had very loose banking laws. They were commonly used by the wealthy to avoid paying taxes and by criminals to hide their assets. Those banks always refused to reveal anything about their clients to any other province or any authorities. It was one of the reasons many mammals didn't trust foxes.

"This time I need it deposited to my account in this bank. I also need some walking around money. I'd like to get two envelopes with five thousand each and one with ten thousand."

"Of course, I can have that in a couple of minutes."

He glanced at Judy seeing her staring at him wide eyed, "What? I told you we had some stops to make."

"Is there anything else you need Nick?"

"Yes. I'm going to need to set aside some funds for Finnick to pick up. He's finally buying back his parents' restaurant, and I told him I would help with some funding."

Nick saw the otter frown, "Um. Mr. Wilde, I'm not sure if it's my place to tell you this, but Finnick bought back that restaurant over five years ago. I know because I was involved in the purchase. I don't know why he hasn't bothered to fix it up. He has plenty of funds in his accounts."

Nick growled, "That sawed off little excuse for a fox. I'm going to hunt him down and pin him to a wall by his ears. He's been telling me for years that he gambled away most of his money."

The otter shrugged, "I don't know what to say. He comes in regularly like you and makes similar deposits. The only time he's ever made a withdrawal was when he purchased the property."

Nick sighed, "Fine, let's forget about that until after I have a long talk with Finnick."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes, Judy here has some checks to cash, and she needs an account set up, savings, checking, credit cards, all the standard stuff, but I want her to have the same preferred rates that I have. I will cosign for any of it if necessary."

The otter looked astonished, "Really?"

"Absolutely, this bunny saved my life. It's the least I can do for her."

…

Judy was waiting in the truck trying to figure out what Nick was up to. After the bank, they had first stopped at the DMV where Nick had insisted she wait in the truck. He had gone in and had come back out in less than 5 minutes, which was astonishing considering the staff. Now they were at the post office. She saw Nick walking back towards the truck and again he had only been in the building a few minutes.

As he climbed in, she asked, "Nick, why are we here? What does this have to do with getting things setup for tonight?

"It actually doesn't. I'm just taking a few precautions. I will explain it all later. For now, let's get some lunch and then we will see about getting you a gun. Just trust me, okay?"

"Okay Nick, let's get some lunch."

…

Nick and Judy walked into the store. Nick smiled as he watched Judy's eyes in constant motion trying to take in everything. "So, what do you think?"

"I have never seen a gun store this big before."

"You only see part of it. The basement has a shooting range as well as storage lockers that the store rents out. It's not the biggest one in Zootopia, but it is one of the best. Come on, let's get you set up."

They walked back to the counter where a middle-aged fox was sitting reading a newspaper. He set the paper down as they approached the counter, "Nick, what can I do for you? Do you need some more targets?"

"I have plenty, for now, George, although there are a couple of things we do need. First, what's the wait time for a pistol purchase for a ZPD officer?"

"There isn't one assuming their ID checks out when I call the ZPD for verification. Why do you want to know?"

"Because Officer Hopps here is in desperate need of a pistol."

"Since I'm pretty sure there is only one bunny officer in the ZPD, I assume you're the one from the news?"

Judy blushed, "Yes."

"So what price range are we looking at?"

Judy was quick to reply, "Something reasonable, let's start with the cheapest then go up."

Nick shook his head, "No, let's start over, Judy you don't have time to get used to a new pistol. What did you do the best with at the Academy?"

"A Mousser Jackrabbit special."

George nodded, "I'm not surprised. Hang on."

He walked over to a cabinet unlocked it, then returned with a pistol.

"It's the only one I have, as he handed it to Judy."

She smiled as she took it. She checked the balance released the magazine, then reload it.

"So is that what you're used to?" Nick watched as Judy nodded.

"Okay, George, you're the expert how good is this pistol."

"There's not much to say. It's probably the best gun available specifically designed for rabbits. Depending on the ammo used, it can take down small, medium and larger mammals, but like all small mammal weapons, it will have limited effect when you get to very large mammals. While it will ruin the day of a polar bear or an elephant, I doubt you will take one down with it unless you have excellent aim and hit them multiple times somewhere vital. For those kinds of mammals, you really need an assault rifle."

"Okay, how much?"

"For you Nick, seven thousand."

Nick choked, "What the hell George," as he took the pistol from Judy looking at it, "Is made out of platinum or something? That's ridiculous for a gun."

"Actually, that is with my friends and family rate. It retails for ten."

"Why? I don't see anything special about it."

"The grip, safety catch, trigger spacing are all specially made for a rabbit's paw."

"So what, all of my pistols are specially made for a fox's paw, and I didn't pay over a grand for any of them."

"That's because there are a lot of foxes that buy guns. While there are not that many rabbits that purchase guns, so they manufacture a lot less of them. You are actually lucky that I have this one in stock. The only reason I do is that I had a rabbit special order it, but he never came back to pick it up."

Nick handed the pistol back to Judy. He watched as she took it and held it for a little while before shaking her head and reluctantly giving it back to George. "No, that's too much. What do you have that a bunny can use that's under a thousand dollars? Then adding, the cheaper, the better."

Nick took out his wallet and pulled out his credit card and placed a paw on Judy's shoulder. "We will take it, George. Also, she's going to need the works. A couple of extra magazines, both shoulder and belt holsters, several boxes of ammo, shooting glasses, ear protection, cleaning kit, and add her onto my range membership."

"Nick, you're not buying all that for me."

"You're right. I'm not. That bonus the city gave me for doing nothing is. Think of it this way, if it makes you feel better, the city should have provided you with all of this. Now they are. Besides, I'm not letting my girlfriend run around this city chasing down bad guys without being properly equipped or using a gun she isn't familiar with."

She hugged him, "Thank you, Nick."

"Just promise to use it when you need to, so that you stay alive and come back home to me."

"I promise, Nick."

…

Nick was standing in front of a large metal door. "Nick, when you said we were going down to your locker I thought you meant like a locker room locker, not a room."

Nick smiled, "I need somewhere safe to store my toys, and this is one of the safest places in the city. There are a lot of requirements for a gun locker. This room is more of a vault than a storage locker. Besides, I have an agreement with George, and my name isn't listed as belonging to this locker."

He unlocked the door and pushed it open. He turned on the lights and walked in, Judy following him looking around in amazement.

"Nick, these can't be legal," as she looked at one wall that contained an assortment of guns hanging on mounts.

"Technically, they are as long as you have the proper collectors permit."

She walked over, and her paw traced over the sniper rifle hanging on the wall before examining the several assault rifles and various pistols hanging on the wall.

Nick had walked over to a cabinet and opened it. He pulled out a bullet proof vest and placed it on a chair, then started to take off his shirt.

Judy wandered around the room, taking it in. She stopped in front of a workbench that contained several disassembled security systems on it. "Should I even ask?"

Nick glanced over and grinned, "Just a simple hobby."

She stopped and looked at the various building blueprints that were taped to the walls, noticing the many paw-written notes on each. Nick noticed and quickly moved over and started removing the prints and folding them up. "You probably shouldn't look at those too closely. I should have disposed of them years ago."

Judy took the vest off of the chair and helped Nick put it on. She then helped him put his shirt on over it. She smiled at him, "So do you enjoy showing me your secret lair?"

"Kind of, but there is another reason. Remember I told you earlier, I was taking precautions?"

She nodded, noting the seriousness of Nick's voice. She watched has he pulled a metal case from out of the cabinet and laid it on the workbench. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked it. "I put this together when I thought Mr. Big might come after me. Now it's for us if something terrible happens like they lose that evidence. Judy, if that happens, you know she will come after us, and she will have all of this city's resources at her disposal. We will only have one choice."

Judy looked into the case touching the pistol in the front of the case. As she watched, Nick walked over to the wall and pulled a second gun from its mount and removed several magazines of from the cabinet then placed them into the case. Judy looked at the stack of money in a compartment in the back of the case. She saw an envelope in the back and pulled it out. Inside, she found five passports each with Nick's picture and a different name. Inside each passport was a matching driver's license and several credit cards.

Nick reached into a pocket and removed another stack of passports and handed them to Judy. She already knew what she would find as she took them. Judy flipped through them and saw her picture in the new set of passports and licenses. As she looked at the ID's, she noticed that the last names on her IDs matched the last names on Nick's.

Nick reached out and placed two keys in Judy's paw. "Always keep these with you, if something happens, take the case and leave the city, don't wait for me." He took out and dropped another envelope in the case. "That's directions to a location where we can meet at if we get separated." Nick took the passports from her then repacked the case, locking it and placing it back in the cabinet.

She was speechless, staring at the cabinet feeling the cold metal of the keys in her paw. Nick leaned over and kissed her between the ears. "Don't worry about it Carrots. Hopefully, we will never need it. But just remember it will always be here if we do."

He tried to lighten the mood, "Come on, let's go to the range and give you a little practice with that new gun. Then we'll come back here, and I will pack up a few items we may need tonight. After that, we have one more stop to make before picking up the paperwork at the mayor's office. Then we will need to get ready for tonight."

Judy looked at him and ran her paw along his muzzle, "No, we have two more stops to make. We need to stop by a pharmacy. I need a couple of things, and I seem to remember you mentioning we ran out of a certain item last night. We are definitely going to need more for when this is over aren't we?"

Nick smiled at her, "Absolutely, besides, I seem to recall someone owes me an extra turn and I aim to collect it."


	10. Mole Hunt (Part 1)

Nick, this is humiliating."

"You were the one complaining about using your crutches yesterday. I thought you would be happy that I'm not making you use them."

"Okay, I was wrong. Please, Nick, let's get the crutches out of the truck. I promise I will use them and not complain."

"Sorry Carrots, that's not going to happen, this is allowing us to get all of my things into the building without anyone noticing. Besides, the cover story is supposed to be that you are severely injured after all."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" she accused glaring up at him.

"Just a little," he admitted as he looked down at the bunny sitting in the wheelchair, he was pushing up the ramp. Judy's right leg was elevated, and a plaid blanket was covering her legs and lap, he started to laugh, "Okay, a lot."

"You are so sleeping on the couch tonight."

Nick continued to laugh, "Totally worth it."

…

The vixen at the reception desk glanced up noticing the fox and bunny entering the ZPD building through the automatic doors. She did a double take and stared wide-eyed at the approaching fox. He was wearing the kind of blue scrubs you would expect from someone working in the medical field. The auburn shading on his ears started near the base of his ears instead of the middle, then transitioned to a color so dark that the tips were nearly black, something rare in a fox, so were the small black spots flecked in the tan fur under his muzzle and on his neck. The eyes behind the wire framed glasses were crystal blue. His build was perfect, and he walked with an assured gliding manner. Without even thinking about it, she unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, then thought, to hell with it, and undid the second one too.

Nick stopped the wheelchair several feet from the front desk, then approached it alone. He saw the vixen was leaning forward over the counter. She was beautiful, and if he had met her in a bar a month ago, he would have tried to pick her up.

His eyes lock with hers as he flashed her his most charming smile. He leaned against the counter. His muzzle only inches from hers. His peripheral vision took note of her loose open shirt and with the way she was leaning towards him he could glimpse what was beneath it. He looked down at her badge and casually ran his claw over her name. "Hi Tammy, my name is Nick, and the bunny over there is Officer Hopps. She's here to see Chief Bogo. Do you think you can help me out and see if he is available?" Nick could smell the musky scent of the vixen mixed with the pheromones she was giving off. He breathed in the scent waiting for his body's reaction to it and was a little surprised when it never came.

"Hi, Nick. Just a moment." She moved back slowly and placed the call never taking her eyes off of him. She came back a minute later, leaning back in, while smiling at him, "He says to go on up."

He returned her smile, "Thank you, Tammy. Maybe I will see you again when we leave." He saw her inhale deeply, then saw the puzzled look on her face which quickly turned to one of disappointment. He turned and went back to the wheelchair. He knew exactly, why she had looked disappointed. She had expected to smell his returned interest in her but hadn't.

As he reached the wheelchair, he exhaled through his nose trying to clear her scent but failing. Without thinking about it, he leaned in and deeply inhaled Judy's sweet, earthy scent that was so different from that of a vixen. He immediately felt his body's reaction to her scent. He smiled and started pushing the wheelchair towards the elevator.

When they were halfway to the elevator, Nick dropped Tammy's ID badge into Judy's lap, "Keep that for me Carrots, I'm probably going to need it later, and have I mentioned just how good you smell?"

…

Judy's claws were digging into the wheelchair's armrests as she watched Nick openly flirting with the vixen at the desk. She tried to see any flaws in the vixen, but couldn't find any. She was beautiful, and Judy knew that was probably the reason she was working at the reception desk. The two fox's muzzles were so close to each other they were practically kissing. From where she sat she could see just how interested the vixen was in Nick and apparently Nick was equally interested in her.

She didn't know whether she wanted to cry or be furious with him. Soon it was the fury that won out. As she thought, I swear to god, I'm going to neuter his ass. She was seriously debating rolling the wheelchair back over his tail when he finally returned from the desk. She glanced up to see his head close to hers. She saw his eyes close before she heard him inhale deeply and saw a smile come to his face. His head vanished from her view, and she felt the wheelchair start to move. They had only moved a few feet when she heard the vixen at the desk, cursing in a quiet but angry voice, "God damn, perverted bunny chasing fox."

They were halfway to the elevator when she felt and saw the badge drop into her lap.

…

When they reached the elevator, Nick moved forward and glanced at Judy as he went to press the button and froze as he saw her ears were down as she avoided his gaze. Then he noticed the tear running down her cheek.

"Judy, what's wrong?"

"That hurt me, Nick. That hurt so much."

Nick's eyes went wide, and he knelt down next to her, "Judy, I'm so sorry. I saw her badge coming in and thought it would come in handy tonight. I'm so used to just acting when an opportunity arises. I just did it without thinking. She was nothing but a mark, I swear."

"I know, I realized that afterward, but it still hurt," She glanced at him, then looked away, "It still hurts. Would you be comfortable with me hitting on and touching a handsome bunny in front of you just to get a stupid ID card?"

He cupped her cheek and turned her head towards him, "Of course I wouldn't, I would be hurt and angry." He gave her a small smile, "If that happened, I would probably also be going to jail for beating the crap out that bunny. I really am sorry. I will try to make sure it never happens again, and if it ever does you have my permission to stomp on my tail to get my attention, okay?"

Judy looked at him with a small smile as she wiped away a tear, "You were lucky this time, I was seconds away from running it over with the wheelchair."

"And I would have deserved it," Nick chuckled as he kissed her. He was starting to pull away when the thought of Judy with a male bunny flashed in his head, without thinking leaned in and began to rub his muzzle along her cheek. He suddenly realized what he was about to do and jerked his head back. His ears folded back and his eyes wide.

"I'm sorry Judy, I didn't mean to do that."

Judy was puzzled, as she saw the fear in Nick's eyes.

"It's okay, Nick, what's wrong?" She saw Nick start to relax at her response.

Nick just shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I'm just not doing anything right tonight, am I?"

He stood up and glanced at the elevator, "So are you ready to go up or do you need a few minutes?"

"Let's go."

Nick reached out and pressed the elevator button.

As they waited for the elevator. Judy asked, "So, did you really need to steal her ID?"

"Borrow Judy, I borrowed her ID, and I fully intend on returning it after I'm done with it."

"Nick, the last time I checked, when you borrow something the owner is supposed to give it willingly."

"She liked me. She probably would have."

"She was cursing you out when we left."

"Oh well, it's too late now," as he pushed the wheelchair into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

"Nick, she's only 30 steps away."

Nick paused until the doors closed before replying, "Nope, definitely too late."

As they rode the elevator up, Judy asked, "Nick, she said something pretty bad about you when we were walking away. How did she know about us?"

He shrugged, "The same way she knew that I wasn't interested in her. She could smell my excitement when I inhaled your scent, but not hers."

"So I excite you, and she doesn't?"

"Absolutely," as he leaned in and kissed her between her ears.

What he had said suddenly hit her and Judy groaned, "So wait a minute. You're telling me that you know every time I'm…," her eyes opened wide, and she blushed, thinking of all the times over the past couple days she had been thinking about Nick and what kinds of thoughts they were.

"Uh," Nick pushed the elevator button several times, thinking open damn it, he was getting decidedly uncomfortable with where this conversion was heading. The doors opened, and he pushed the chair out before the doors had a chance to fully open. "We really should hurry, I'm pretty sure we're running late."

He could hear the anger rising in her voice, "Nick, this conversion is not over. You are going to tell me exactly what that nose of yours is capable of detecting."

Nick sighed in relief, as they reached Bogo's office door. "Of course Judy, we can discuss it tomorrow."

"Fine, but don't think you are off the hook mister, we are going to have that conversion."

As Nick knocked on the door, he thought, now all I have to do is to find a cooperative mole who can do me the favor of shooting me before tomorrow.

…

Bogo looked up from his desk as he watched the two mammals enter his office. He had not been expecting this. He wondered whose idea the wheelchair was since he had to admit, it was a good one. It certainly was in line with the cover story.

His eyes studied the fox, knowing that if he had walked past Nick on the street, he probably wouldn't have recognized him. It wasn't just the makeup and glasses. The fox carried himself and moved differently than he had seen in the past. More like a business executive, he stood straight, and all of his movements were precise and thought out.

Bogo got up, "Both of you stay here. I'm going to locate Wolford since I want him to sit in on this meeting. I'm also going to get a couple of officers to watch the door for when we go and check out the surveillance room."

Nick asked, "Chief, while you are gone, would you mind bringing back some water for Judy? She is going to need to take her medication soon."

Bogo just nodded as he headed out the door, "Certainly."

Once the door closed, Judy turned to Nick, "What medication? We already agreed I wasn't going to take any today so it wouldn't affect me while we are working the case."

Nick grinned at her and immediately headed for Bogo's chair. "I want him away for as long as possible."

Judy watched as Nick scrambled up into Bogo's chair. He stood on the chair and started searching the chief's desk.

"Nick, whatever you're doing, you're going to get caught, and then I'm going to get in trouble for it."

"Just blame it on me, it's not like you could stop me with that leg of yours."

She shook her head as Nick continued rifling through Bogo's desk.

After a minute Nick stopped and laughed, "Why is it that so many mammals write down their account and password? Is it really, that hard of a thing to remember?"

She heard Nick typing on the keyboard. "Nick, he's going to arrest you if he catches you on his computer. What are you looking for anyway?"

"I just want to check his emails for the last month to see if there is any connection to Bellwether."

Judy considered it, "Okay, but hurry it up."

After several minutes Nick sighed, "Nothing, there are a couple of emails between the two, but it is just standard work stuff."

"Well, if you're done, then get down here before he gets back."

Nick checked the desk making sure everything was where it originally was. Then he smiled down at Judy, "We probably still have a few more minutes, so want to check out his internet history? I'm more than a little curious, aren't you?"

…

Wolford was the first to enter the office as Bogo was out in the hall giving instructions to the two officers that would be guarding the door.

As he came in, he saw Judy in a wheelchair in front of Bogo's desk and a fox crouched next to her. He had barely entered the office when the fox shot to his feet and moved placing his body directly between himself and Judy.

"Relax, Nick. That's Wolford."

"I know who he is."

Wolford noticed that the fox didn't budge. What was odd was he didn't recognize the fox. Then Wolford caught the fox's scent, and recognition dawned on him. While he looked different, this was the insane fox that had climbed the pipe at the museum. The one Judy had said had helped her crack the case and had saved her life.

Judy hit Nick's leg. "Move out of the way, Nick. I want to see Wolford."

Nick sighed and moved to the side.

Wolford walked over, crouched down and took Judy's paw, "It's good to see you again Judy, how are you doing?"

She smiled at him, "Just a little banged up, but I'm recovering."

Wolford was close enough the catch both of their scents. What was surprising was how thoroughly intermingled their scents where. It was not the kind of thing that could happen with a simple casual contact between two mammals.

He handed her a water bottle, "The Chief said you needed this."

She took the bottle and placed it in her lap, "Thanks."

As Wolford took a seat in front of the desk, he saw that Nick was casually wandering around the office.

Bogo entered and took a seat at his desk and looked at both of his officers, "So, any suggestions on how we are going to root out the moles?"

Judy shrugged, "I have been thinking about it for a while, and it shouldn't be that hard. If Nick can figure out the issue with the building's surveillance system and we can fix it, then we can set up a trap for them."

"What are you proposing?" asked Chief Bogo.

"Pretty simple actually, we check in a set of fake evidence into the evidence room and then monitor who accesses it. Then interrogate that mammal to learn if there are others."

As Judy was talking, Nick walked over to the safe and examined the front of it for several seconds before pulling out his phone and starting to type on it.

"And what do we do if that doesn't work?"

"Then during the day shift when the facility is at its busiest, we secure the exits and leak that that Bellwether has made a deal and has named several mammals as being moles and that the building is going to go into lockdown shortly so they can be apprehended. Then we see who bolts for an exit."

"Unfortunately, with that plan, we will probably catch a bunch of other employees that just don't want to get stuck in the lockdown or really do need to exit the building, so it will be harder to sort out who the real moles are. But at least we would have a smaller group of mammals to investigate."

"Your first plan is pretty much in line with what Wolford and I had discussed earlier. So I think we will try it first," the water buffalo conceded, before adding, "assuming that Nick can determine the issues with the building's surveillance system and fix it. Well, Nick, do you think you can do it?"

Nick wandered over to where Judy was sitting, "Probably, though I won't know for sure until I can figure out what exactly is wrong."

Bogo started to get up, "Okay, let me show you two to the surveillance room."

"Not yet, I want to secure the safe first."

"Nick, I already told you that is a top of the line safe. They shouldn't be able to get into it."

Nick grinned and winked at Judy, "Chief, twenty bucks says I can open it first try."

Judy glared at him, "No Nick. You are not going to hustle the Chief by intentionally failing and then raising the stakes."

Nick put his paws on his hips and frowned at her, "Well, obviously I'm not, now. I will have you know. I could have easily gotten enough for us to go out for a nice dinner and maybe even a movie."

"Okay Nick, new rule, no hustling any members of the ZPD. I need to work with them, and I don't need you pissing any of them off."

"Fine, but you do realize you are taking all of the fun out of this operation don't you?"

"Too bad, now show us what a clever fox you are and open the safe."

He flashed a grin at Judy, "Okay, time me Carrots."

Judy chuckled and pulled out her phone as she watched Nick stretching and cracking the knuckles in his paws as he walked over to the safe.

"Ready, go."

Nick put his ear to the safe then started turning the dial.

Bogo shook his head, "That isn't going to work Nick, that model of safe is specifically designed to mask the sound of the tumblers."

They all watched as Nick stop turning the dial, then moved it back slowly in the opposite direction, then finally dialed it again in the original direction.

Bogo sighed, "Are you done playing around, Nick? Can we get on with what you are here for?"

"Absolutely," he turned the handle, and they all heard the loud 'thunk' of the lock releasing before the door swung open.

Judy laughed, "Twenty seconds."

"Damn, I'm getting rusty."

Bogos eyes were wide, "That's not possible."

"It's all in the wrist, though the incredible hearing, sense of touch, and paw to eye coordination that we foxes have, certainly helps. It's why we are the best species to have around when you need something important done."

"Okay Nick, enough messing around with him. Tell him what you did."

"Judy, I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied in a mock tone.

"Nick, do you really think I didn't notice you examining the safe and looking something up on your phone while I was explaining my plans?"

He chuckled at her, "That's my bunny."

"Okay, it's called Locksmithing 101. A lot of safe manufacturers add a secret master combination to their safes just in case the owner loses the existing combination. Those master combinations are top secret and only authorized locksmiths have access to them," he shrugged, "so of course, they can readily be found in various forums on the internet within weeks of a new model being released. It only took me a minute to determine the make and model of safe then, less than that to look up its master combination on the internet."

"It's possible that the moles are unaware of this. But even if they are, I suspect this safe has already been used for a while somewhere in this building. So, who knows how many mammals may already know its combination. I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to stake our lives on it."

"So, as I said before, I'm going to secure the safe as best as I can."

He walked over to the wheelchair, "Okay Carrots, get up for a minute."

"It's about time. My leg is falling asleep."

As Judy removed the blanket, Bogo could see there was a small gym bag hanging under the elevated leg rest that was supporting her leg. When Nick helped her out of the chair, Bogo noticed that she had also been sitting on another bag. His eyes narrowed as he could just make out a third bag suspended under the wheelchair. His first thought was, "Just how many things did they sneak into this building?" While the second was, that he needed to review the building security plans once this mess was straightened out.

Nick removed the small gym bag from the leg rest and pulled out two devices. "These are simple battery powered motion activated alarms. What's nice about them is that the alarm is a compressed air horn. So I can guarantee that if one of these goes off, it will be audible anywhere in the building," he grinned, "I suspect it will also be a real eye opener for whoever opens the safe. I would recommend that if any of us needs to open the safe that whoever does it, should be wearing some serious hearing protection when they do."

Bogo asked, "Can you adjust the time before the alarms go off?"

'You can, in increments of 30 seconds, but I wouldn't recommend having any delay. If whoever opens the safe sees them, they can quickly turn them off or break them. They are just cheap commercial alarms after all."

"Well, I don't want to alert everyone in the building that they are there if we do need to get into the safe, so please set them with a 30-second delay."

"Fine," Nick adjusted the alarms and placed them on different shelves. Bogo and Wolford then confirmed the contents of the safe and examined the devices ensuring they knew how to disable them. Nick then bent down and reached into to activate the alarms, his claw brushing over the delay setting on each device just before activating them. Once he set everything, he quickly closed and locked the safe.

Bogo clenched his hoof as he watched the fox bending over and activating the alarm. He hadn't noticed it before because of the loose fit of the scrubs he was wearing, but with Nick crouched down Bogo could see the noticeable outline of a pistol in the small of his back.

Nick stood up and turned to Bogo, "Well, now that that's taken care of, let's go check out your surveillance system."

Bogo held out his hoof, "First, hand over the gun, Nick."

Nick only smiled and shook his head, "No."

"Nick, there is no way I'm letting a civilian walk around my precinct armed."

Nick's grin widened, "Actually, you are going to since you have no choice in the matter."

Nick walked over to Judy and held out his paw to her.

Judy looked up at him, "Nick, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, and remember you agreed that I'm in charge of this part."

Judy sighed and pulled the folder out of the wheelchair's side pocket and handed it to him. Nick took it and handed it to Chief Bogo who didn't even bother to open it.

"So, what's this supposed to be?"

"That contains a copy of my concealed carry permit. There is also a copy of the contract between myself and the city of Zootopia as Officer Hopps' personal bodyguard. It also contains a copy my class A bodyguard license, which authorizes me to carry firearms into any public, private or governmental facility where my principal is located. That license allows me to discharge said firearms at anyone I deem to be a threat to myself or my principal. So no Chief, I will not be giving you any of the weapons I am carrying."

Bogo growled on hearing that the fox was most likely had more weapons on him than just the pistol he had seen, "I should throw you out of the building."

"That's your choice, and to tell you the truth, I would prefer you do that. It would be far safer for Judy than having her here. But I did agree to help, so the choice is yours."

Bogo's eyes narrowed on the fox, "Okay, we'll play it your way for now, but just be aware that both Wolford and I will be monitoring you closely and if either of us deems it necessary, we will toss your ass out of the building."

Nick only shrugged, "So how about showing us the surveillance room?"

…

Nick was following behind Bogo and Wolford as he pushed the chair at a slow pace, allowing a gap to form between them. He saw Judy glance at him and he lowered his head down next to hers.

She whispered in his ear, "So were you able to adjust the delay before activating them?"

He nodded and whispered back, "Yes, they're set for no delay, just like we planned."

She smiled and kissed his muzzle, "Good, it's up to you now Nick, to fix the surveillance system. Then we can bait the real trap."

Nick stood up straight and increased his pace moving to catch up with the two ZPD officers.

…

The Mayor looked up from her desk as her office door slammed open. She watched as the bunny walked over to the small bar in the corner. She winced at the screeching sound as he dragged a chair over to the bar, then jump onto it pouring two drinks. Her eyes followed him as he walked to her desk and then jumped on top of it. He walked to the center of her desk then sat down cross-legged on the papers she had just been reading.

She could see the fury in his eyes. "We need to talk Catherine," he stated as he handed her the larger of the two glasses.

She smiled at the bunny, "Sure, Simon, thanks for knocking, why don't you come in and we will chat." She sighed when she saw his look hadn't changed at all.

"Fine, but could you at least use one of the chairs?"

"No. I want to see your eyes. I've just spent the past hour on the phone with Doug Ramses' lawyer, the District Attorney, and the doctors working on the cure for the Night Howler serum. What the hell are you thinking not taking the deal?" he watched as she flinched and look away.

"I didn't tell them I wouldn't take the deal. I just told them I would consider it."

"Well, you've considered it. Now take the damn deal."

"Screw that, there's no way I am letting that ram off with fifteen to twenty years in prison. He shot 37 predators with that shit, turning them savage and he's responsible for over 100 mammals being injured from the resulting attacks. That bastard is going to spend the rest of his life rotting in jail." She leaned back in her chair downing half of her drink in a single swallow and glared at the bunny.

Simon sighed, "In a perfect world, I would agree, but this isn't one. Catherine, I've talked to the doctors."

"Well, so have I, and they still have time. There is nothing special about the night howler serum. It is just a highly concentrated form of the flower's toxin. A cure already exists. They just need to figure out how to scale it up."

"Catherine, the current cure is only good at expelling the toxin if a mammal has a small amount in their system. The affected predators have over twenty times that level in them. It's not going to work. Even if we had the cure now, the doctors say it will take weeks to remove the toxin from their systems. Meanwhile, it's doing God knows what to their brains. The doctors all agree if they don't start treatment soon, there is a chance those predators may remain savage even once the toxins are removed."

"Ramses claims to have developed a cure when he developed the night howler serum. We need that cure now. Besides, as part of the deal, he will reveal the identities of everyone he knows that was involved and will testify against them and Bellwether. It's a good deal."

She growled out, "The deal sucks."

Simon sipped at his drink, staring at her, "Fine have it your way. So do you want me to start scheduling in visits the with all of those predator's children so you can explain to them how you could have done something that would have allowed their mom or dad to get better and come home but instead chose not to?"

He watched as she sagged in the chair.

"Simon that's low, even for you."

"What can I say? I've learned from the best."

He took another sip before continuing, "Catherine you're in that seat for a reason. We have both sworn to do what's best for the citizens of this city, even if we don't like it."

She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes for several minutes before sighing, "Go make the calls, tell them we accept the deal."

She opened her eyes and watched as Simon got up turned and walked off the front of her desk vanishing from sight. When he reappeared walking towards the door, she asked in a tired voice, "Simon, when we came up with this plan in your dorm room fifteen years ago, did you ever think we would make it this far?"

Simon smiled at her, "There was never a doubt in my mind."

Before leaving, he added, "I will tell you how everything went at the morning briefing. You will have a busy schedule tomorrow, and we still have a city to fix. So go home and get some rest, Catherine."


	11. Mole Hunt (Part 2)

Nick pushed the wheelchair down the hallway following Chief Bogo and Wolfard. They turned down a short side hallway that ended at a metal door. The chief removed an ID card and held it against the reader unlocking the door. As Bogo and Wolfard entered the surveillance room, Nick stopped outside and looked back down the hallway, seeing the security camera slowly panning and frowned. He watched the camera pan several times before Judy asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm trying to figure out why that is a panning camera. If it's supposed to be monitoring this door, it should be a fixed camera."

"Does it matter?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

On entering Judy noticed the room was small, with the four of them in the room there wasn't a lot of room to move around. Looking around there wasn't much to see, the wall across from the door had several rows of LCD monitors each of which was displaying a different camera feed. The left-hand wall had a simple desk against it which held a computer monitor, keyboard, and a small control panel. The right-hand wall had a storage cabinet and several racks of electronic equipment against it.

Bogo was quick to asked, "Any idea how long this will take?"

Nick shrugged, "It's hard to say, at least several hours."

"Well, I have things to do. Wolfard can help you with anything you need."

* * *

Judy spent the next half hour talking to Wolfard and getting caught up with what had been happening around the station during the last several weeks. They both watched as Nick examined all of the equipment in the room.

Eventually, Nick turned back to them.

"Well?" prompted Judy.

"Nothing. None of the equipment has been tampered with, as far as I can tell. All of the manufacturer and security seals are still intact. Also, there isn't any extra equipment that shouldn't be here."

"So what's next?"

"I need to check the cameras. Carrots, can you get my maintenance outfit out of the bag."

"Sure."

Wolfard watched as the fox removed his gun and placed the contents of his pockets onto the desk and then started to remove his clothes. Soon he was down to his vest, boxers, and a leg holster.

Nick looked down at Judy, who was again sitting in the wheelchair with the new outfit in her lap. He took the offered pants from her.

As Nick bent over and started to pull on the pants, he felt a light tug on his boxers. After he had pulled his pants up, he reached back and removed the item that had been tucked into the boxers. He looked at the dollar in his paw and chuckled, "Behave yourself bunny, what would your mother say?"

Judy laughed, "Knowing my mom. She would probably scold me for not inviting her to the show." She stood up and helped him put the shirt on over the vest.

Nick couldn't help himself and leaned in as she buttoned up his shirt, pulling her scent in, "God you smell good."

"Now which one of us needs to behave himself? There will be time for that when we get home." as she finished buttoning his shirt.

"Carrots, do you still have that ID card?"

Judy reached into the wheelchair's side pocket and handed him the card. "You know that is not going to work, don't you?"

He clipped the card to his pocket, making sure it was facing backwards. "Sure it will, nobody checks identity cards. They just look to see that there's one present. Let me have a little of your water."

She handed him the bottle. He splashed some on his paw, then ran it through his neck and head fur spiking it and making it look unkempt.

"Well, do I look scruffy enough for a maintenance mammal?"

Judy ran her paws through his fur ruffling it up in a couple of places. "Good enough. What do you need?"

"Just the couple rolls of painter's tape and the marker."

Judy located them in one of the bags and handed them to him. She watched as he pulled his phone out and placed an earbud in his ear. She did the same.

"Okay, I will be back in a while. Call me if you need me."

Wolfard got up, "I'll go with you."

"No, you stay here. I'm trying to be inconspicuous and having a ZPD officer following me around is the opposite of that. If you want to keep an eye on me, then you're in the perfect room to do it from."

Wolfard settled back into the chair and watched as Nick left the room.

Judy glanced at the wolf. Seeing that his attention was fixed on Nick's leaving the room, she pressed the call button on her phone before dropping it back into the wheelchair's side pocket. Judy straightened out the blanket over her legs before reaching into the pocket and removed her gun. She gently gripped it in her paw under the blanket. She heard Nick's voice answering in the earbud.

"Are you set?"

She cleared her throat.

"That's my girl."

She didn't like it, but until this case was over, there was only one mammal in the building she knew she could trust.

* * *

Judy and Wolfard watched as Nick moved around the building, placing numbered pieces of tape at various heights, apparently in random locations on the walls.

"Judy, do you have any idea what he's doing?"

"Not a clue."

Judy grinned as she saw officer Delgato walking down the hallway towards Nick.

"So want to bet another ten on if Delgato's going to catch Nick?"

Wolfard growled out in disgust, "No. I already owe you fifty bucks, and that's my limit." He shook his head as the fox stopped what he was doing and then casually walked up to the lion and started talking to him. They chatted for a few minutes, then the lion laughed and clapped the fox on his back before continuing down the corridor. The fox glanced up at the camera and winked before turning back and continuing with whatever he was doing. "That is just so wrong."

Judy couldn't help laughing. As she watched Nick work with his back to the camera, she heard him whisper in her ear. "When this is over I think we need to talk about that rule where I'm not allowed to hustle any ZPD officers because I'm sensing a double standard here."

After a while, Wolfard asked, "So how long have you two been a couple."

She looked at him innocently, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that Judy. Nick's scent and yours are completely intermingled, and that doesn't happen just with casual contact. On top of that, when the two of you were flirting, there were so many pheromones and other scents coming off of you both I could barely breathe in here. I was debating finding a hose to dose you two."

Judy smiled and looked at Nick on the monitor before replying, "Not long."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did that happen? I mean I never heard of a predator/prey couple before, let alone a fox and a bunny."

Judy kept watching Nick on the monitor and shook her head with a smile on her lips. "I have no idea. Circumstances just pushed us together, and now I don't want to consider us not being together."

"Are you two trying to hide your relationship? I understand if you are. I mean a lot of mammals probably won't approve if they find out."

Judy shook her head, "We don't care who finds out or if anyone approves of our relationship. We're not breaking any laws and as long as we have each other, why would it matter?"

"What do your families think about it?"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure, we haven't gotten that far yet. If they don't approve then, they will just have to get over it. It's our lives, not theirs."

She looked at Wolfard who was staring at the floor and smiled, "Okay, so who is she?"

He glanced at her looking guilty. He sagged in the chair, then answered "Becky, from Mammal Resources. I think she likes me. We often have lunch together in the break room. She's a lynx, and I know my family wouldn't approve. I doubt her family would accept it either. There aren't that many canine and feline couples. Since our species are so different, it would be difficult to make it work."

Judy laughed, "That I can understand. Nick and I have been so busy that we haven't had the time to learn much about each others species or their customs. It sometimes feels like we are walking through a minefield afraid that one misstep is going to ruin everything."

"So how do you deal with it?"

"We just keep stumbling along hoping that if one of us messes up, the other will explain what they did wrong and forgive them for it. Hopefully, as we spend time together we will be able to learn enough about each other's species that we won't keep running into as many obstacles."

"Wolford, if you like her then ask her out. The worst that can happen is she says no. If she says yes, then take her out and have some fun. At least try to see if there is something there. If you don't, you will be wondering about what might have been for the rest of your life."

She glanced at the monitor a saw that Nick must have finished whatever he had been doing since he was heading back to the surveillance room.

* * *

God this sucks. Judy was so bored she just wanted to scream. Her legs were twitching with unreleased energy. She was a bunny. She needed to be moving or doing something. She had no idea what Nick was looking for, but he had been switching back and forth between camera feeds for over two hours. She hated to admit it, but she had given up looking after only 10 minutes. Wolfard had lasted for 20 minutes before he had made some lame excuse about needing to review some documents and had left.

She glanced at the monitor again seeing the view of the hallway by the building's rear exit as the security camera panned back and forth. There was nothing to see. Most of the cameras were stationary, and Nick would just stare for minutes out of a single camera at empty hallways or rooms. He had a clipboard in his lap, and he had drawn a crude map of each floor and was continuously scrawling numbers and various symbols along with an occasional note on it. None of which made any sense to her. The frustrating part was that every time she would try to ask a question about what he was doing, he would just squeeze her paw not saying a word while never taking his eyes from the monitor.

Judy heard the beeping sound of an access card being read at the door's reader followed by the audible click of the door's lock. She was shocked as Nick instantly pulled his gun and aimed it at the door. Judy could see that the pistol's safety was off. The door opened, and she saw it was Chief Bogo coming to check on their progress. She frowned as Nick didn't lower the gun.

She squeezed his paw, "Nick?"

Nick's voice was cold, "Chief how many personnel have access to this room?"

Bogo merely raised an eyebrow at the gun aimed at his chest. "Nick you are seriously trying my patience. I'm about ready to toss your ass out of this building if you don't get control of yourself."

Nick didn't blink, and the gun didn't budge. "How many?"

"Fine, I will play along with your paranoia. Five, including myself. Why?"

"Because what was done to the surveillance system, couldn't have been done without someone sitting in this chair. So at least one of those five mammals is working with Bellwether."

"Well, it isn't me. If it were, I would have just kicked you both out of the building already. So I would appreciate it if you would stop aiming that at me. I would rather not be shot by accident."

Judy felt Nick's paw move against hers. She knew what he was expecting from her, and she was not going to take any chances with their lives. Judy shifted the gun in her lap to cover Bogo and released its safety. She then returned the touch on his paw.

Nick smiled reassuringly, "Of course Chief," as he lowered the gun, releasing its hammer, and re-engaging the safety. He leaned forward and casually placed it on the desk out of his immediate reach then turned back to examining the monitor.

Bogo frowned, from the way Nick had been behaving since entering the building he had been sure the most he was going to do was lower his weapon. He knew he wouldn't have set his pistol down if there was any chance that he was in a room with one of the traitors. Then Bogo noticed Judy's paw under the blanket and immediately knew what was going on. That clever bastard, Nick was setting himself up as bait, expecting Judy to act if he was the traitor and tried to make a move against them.

Bogo tried to ignore the gun that was covering him even though he still felt a chill go down his spine at the thought, "So what have you found?"

"Well someone has messed with your system. Either that or the company that installed it was completely incompetent. It's useless if someone knows how the cameras are setup."

"Everything looks good from here."

"It looks correct, but it's not. Hmm... Instead of wasting a bunch of time trying to explain what's wrong, I think a quick demonstration will make it clear."

He got out of the chair and turned it, so it was facing the wall of monitors. "Chief please take a seat." As Bogo sat, he noticed that when Nick turned and repositioned Judy's wheelchair to face the wall he left it behind his chair giving her the perfect position to cover him.

"Carrots, I assume your ID card allows for access in and out of all of this building's entrances and exit doors?"

"It does."

"Okay, I'm going to need to borrow it for a little while." She pulled it out and handed it to him. Bogo clenched his hoof annoyed that she had just given it to someone that wasn't authorized to use it, though he didn't openly raise any objections since solving this issue was more important.

"Okay, watch the monitors. I should be back in around 5 minutes."

They watched his progress on the monitors as he made his way down to the main lobby. He momentarily paused as he passed by the main desk, then proceeded to exit the building.

Bogo's eyes narrowed as he watched Nick pass by the main desk. "Is it just me or did he take something from the desk on his way out?"

"I'm not sure. The cameras are at a wrong angle to tell for sure. We could roll back the footage, but I don't want to waste time. I want to see him when he reenters the building."

They watched the bank of monitors for any sign of the fox, but saw nothing.

After ten minutes, Bogo sighed, "Please tell me we didn't just sit here and watch that fox walk out of here with a security card and the plans for our surveillance system."

"He will be back." She frowned, "Dammit Nick where are you?" She wanted to ask Nick where he was but didn't want to reveal to Bogo that they were actually in constant communications with each other. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Judy looked at the monitor for the camera located in the hallway outside the security door. After several seconds the camera had rotated enough to reveal Nick's form at the door. She watched as Bogo got up and opened the door for the fox.

As Nick entered the room, Judy commented, "It's about time, what took you so long?"

"You looked hungry, so I stopped for donuts." He removed a donut from the box before handing her the half full box.

"Nick, I don't want a donut. I want to know how you got all the way here without us seeing you."

"Whoever did this replaced several cameras with panning cameras and shifted several key fixed cameras just enough to create a series of overlapping blind spots. If you know where they are, you can enter unseen through the rear entrance and make your way to this room. Once here they could either turn off the video feeds they didn't want to be recorded, though more likely they just patched in different video sources with a still video image."

Bogo asked, "So what would that require?"

"Not much. I've done it…," Nick paused and coughed, "I mean I could do it in a matter of minutes with a couple of cell phones." Nick smiled as he glanced at Judy seeing she had already unconsciously removed a donut from the box and began to eat it.

"So we are going to need to bring in a security company to fix this after all."

"Not really, I can fix the cameras."

"And just how do you plan on doing that without every mammal in the building knowing what you're doing?"

"Trust me. That shouldn't be a problem as long as you have a ladder around here. I just need to check out your maintenance closet. It should have everything I need."

Judy spoke up, "No the tricky part is that we will need to revoke the security access to this room for everyone but you, without whoever is involved knowing about it."

Bogo frowned, "That means we are going to have to get Debra Grazer involved. She is the head of the IT department, and they handle the building's security access. I have known her for over ten years, and while I doubt she would be involved in this, she is a gazelle. She is also one of the five mammals that have access to this room."

Nick asked, "Would you be able to tell if she has done it?"

"Yes, while I can't modify a mammal's access, I can view their rights and see what they have accessed."

Bogo sighed, "It's a risk, but I think we have to take it. Once Nick fixes the cameras, we can't risk someone coming in here and deactivating or destroying the equipment. Besides, if she is one of the moles we will know soon enough if she doesn't revoke the access."

Nick got up and went to the door, "Well, I have work to do. Where is the building's maintenance closet located?"

* * *

Bogo watched through the monitor as Nick struggled to drag the large ladder down the hallway. As Officer Pennington walked by, Nick stopped and talked to the elephant for several minutes. Bogo shook his head as he watched Francine pick up the ladder and start carrying it down the hallway. The fox turned to the camera and flashed a grin before turning and following after the elephant dragging a box of fluorescent bulbs behind him.

"Judy, where the heck did you find this guy?"

Judy didn't want to get into how the two of them had met, so she fell back on the safe answer, "It was in my report. When I started the investigation, he was a key witness. Nick had been the last mammal to see Emmett Otterton before he disappeared."

Bogo was silent for a while before saying, "Judy, I need to know some things about Nick if he is going to work for the ZPD. I need to know why he is so hostile towards authority. I really can't see him working for the ZPD with his current attitude."

Judy couldn't meet Bogo's eyes, "I'm not sure if I should be the one to answer that. I betrayed Nick's trust once. I'm not going to do that again."

She heard Nick whisper in her ear, "Go ahead and tell him."

She sighed, then answered, "Nick doesn't have an issue with authority." as she looked at Chief Bogo.

Bogo's eyes widened a little as the realization hit, "So his issue with me?"

Judy looked away and nodded.

"Why?"

"I don't know all of it, but from what he's told me, he has had a pretty rough life. For whatever reason, he believes in defending the little guy, though I'm not sure he is even aware of it. I'm pretty sure that's why he came to my defense when you tried to take my badge in the rain forest district."

Judy looked past Bogo to the monitor. She saw Nick checking to making sure there was no one around before sliding the ladder from under the lights in the center of the hallway to underneath the camera.

"From his point of view, he thinks you have an issue with small mammals, and because of that he doesn't trust or respect you."

She looked at the Chief waiting for a response, but when one never came, she continued, "He's convinced that due of the time limit you imposed, the lack of resources, and then asking for my badge before the time had expired, that you set me up to fail in the missing mammal case. He's sure you did it just because I'm a small bunny. Then when he tried to defend me in the rainforest, you told him you wouldn't trust the word of a fox." She glanced away again, "If you have no respect for him or his species then he sees no reason to trust or respect you."

"And what do you think?"

"I want to trust you. After all, you did support me after the missing mammal case, but... I don't know."

Bogo sighed, "Judy I want to deny it, but Nick is correct about a lot of it. I was a strong opponent to the mammal inclusion initiative. It's just that I couldn't see any way one could be an effective police officer. I was afraid that if I put you out in the field, one of two things would happen: Either you would be killed, or one of my other officers would be killed when they were relying on you, and you couldn't adequately support them. I had planned on having you work as a meter maid forever when you were to be assigned, or until you gave up and quit."

"When you forced your way into the missing mammals case, I saw it as an opportunity to get rid of you. I wanted you to fail. To help ensure that you did, I made sure you didn't have any of the resources you would need to succeed. I was planning on using you leaving the force as an excuse to prevent more small mammals from being able to join it. At the time, I was sure I was doing the right thing."

"I regret what I said to Nick in the rainforest district, and I understand why he feels the way he does. I have no problem with foxes. At the time I was just saying what I needed to get you to surrender your badge. It wouldn't have mattered what species your witness was. I would have found an excuse to dismiss what they had to say no matter what."

"All I can say is that I'm sorry Judy. I was wrong and hope that I can earn back your trust in the future. You have proven to me that a small mammal can be just as capable of an officer as any large one. If Nick ends up being half the cop you are, I will be proud to have him on the force. If either you or Nick don't think you can work with me after Nick graduates, then I will allow you both to transfer to the precinct of your choice."

She looked at the monitor and saw Nick's body was blocking the camera as he adjusted it. She heard him whisper in her ear, "Don't bother asking, I already know what you want. All I can promise for now is that I will consider it."

Bogo got up out of the chair, "Well before it gets too late, I need to call Debra and get the access revoked for this room. I will leave you two to continue on alone for a while."

He smiled at Judy, "It will give your paw a break from constantly having that gun under the blanket trained on me." He watched as Judy blushed though he noticed her paw never wavered. He stopped at the door, then turned back to the monitor showing Nick already climbing down the ladder. "And Nick, since I'm sure you have been listening to everything we have been saying. I also want to apologize to you for what I said to you in the rain forest district. I am sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did and what I said to Judy about earning back her trust goes for you as well," as he watched, Nick stopped at the bottom of the ladder and looked up into the camera. He gave a small nod before starting to fold up the ladder.


	12. Mole Hunt (Part 3)

Debra groaned as her phone rang. She fumbled for it then squinted her eyes from the glaring light of the screen as she tried to see who was calling her "Why the hell was Bogo calling her at," she glanced at the phone, "11:30 at night?" As her mind finally started to work, she felt a chill run down her spine and came instantly awake. She could think of several reasons for a call, and none of them were good.

"Hello?" she answered hesitantly.

"Debra, it's Bogo. I need your help on an issue."

"Sure Chief, what do you need?"

"First this is just between us. Don't tell anyone on your staff or at ZPD."

"Okay."

"We have had a security breach. I need you to immediately revoke the access to the surveillance room for all personnel except myself. I also need all remote access to the system immediately disabled. No exceptions."

"Okay. But what if I need access?"

"For the foreseeable future, all access to the room and surveillance system will have to go through me. From now on, no one will be allowed to work in that room without supervision."

"I understand, give me a little while to wake up, and I will log in and revoke the access."

"Thank you, Debra. I will let you know more once we can determine the extent of the breach."

"You can always count on me, Chief. Good night."

Debra hung up the phone and quickly moved to the bedroom window cracking the blinds and searching the street outside for any cars that didn't belong there. On not seeing any she started to pace, feeling her stomach clench in fear. God dammit, what do I do now? How much do they know?

Debra pulled out her laptop and connected to the ZPD headquarters. She trembled a little, thinking, what if they are monitoring my connection? She thought of all of the digital hoof prints she had left behind. She knew she was screwed if they started to investigate her. There had been no way to cover up everything she had been doing. She had been counting on Bellwether being mayor to guarantee her safety.

Debra didn't like to admit it, but she had messed up. She had ordered George to remove the evidence from out of lockup not realizing that the most important piece, the original recording, wasn't there. Not for the first time, she considered if maybe she should leave the city before once again dismissing it.

Debra still remembered when Chief Bogo had come to her seven years ago like it was yesterday. He had called it a tragic accident, but that damn tiger had taken everything from her. The tiger had walked away from the accident. Her mate and child hadn't, and the lion that had been head of the ZPD at the time, had refused to press any charges. She had known then, just like she did now, that no predator could ever be trusted. They all needed to all be removed from society, no matter what it took, and Bellwether had a plan to do just that.

If there was any chance of clearing Bellwether, then she had to take it. She started to calm down. Besides, maybe she was just jumping at shadows. If the ZPD knew she was involved, then they would be breaking down her door not calling for assistance.

Debra logged into the surveillance system and switched to the camera outside of the surveillance room and swore when she saw the fixed image of the door. She rewound the video until she saw the face of a fox making adjustments to the camera.

Not good. Did Bogo pull in an outside security firm cutting her group out of the mix? If so, then it meant that her group might already be under investigation. If they were under investigation, she knew she would naturally garner the most attention since she was in charge and held the highest level of security access.

She flipped through the other video feeds cursing again as she saw the same fox currently adjusting another of the cameras. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the system was fully functional again. Heck, that damn fox had already made it impossible for someone to make it unobserved to the surveillance room. No, it was no longer possible to circumvent the system. While she could remotely shut it down, Bogo would know who had done it, and if she didn't disable remote access, then he would know about that as well. She settled back into her chair, any chance of subterfuge was now gone.

She just didn't get it. She had known Bogo for years. He was predictable. He went by the book and leaned towards brute force to solve a case. She had expected him to do something stupid like initiate a lockdown and to start questioning mammals from key positions when he found the evidence was missing, not sneaking someone in to fix the system.

No, this had to be someone else's idea, but whose? She switched to one of the cameras for the main entrance and rewound the video several hours and started to fast forward through the video. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the bunny and fox enter the building. She immediately recognized the bunny, who wouldn't? The whole city was talking about her and how she had taken down Bellwether. She followed the two mammals as they made their way to the elevator. She switched cameras to the one by the elevator. She froze the image as her fear and uncertainty melted away, replaced with disgust and anger at the view of Officer Hopps and the fox kissing in the lobby of the headquarter building. She clenched her hoof as she used the cameras to follow the two to Chief Bogo's office, then to the surveillance room.

She clenched her fist, the whole purpose of what she had been doing was to ensure abominations like this would never occur. She picked up her phone and placed the call, "George, it's Debra. Grab the evidence and meet me outside ZPD headquarters in half an hour, we have a job to do." She reached into her briefcase and pulled out the business card Bellwether's lawyer had given her. She flipped it over and called the number scrawled on the back. "Mr. Longshear? I have need of your services tonight."

...

Wolford and Judy were watching as Nick made adjustments to the last camera when they heard the high pitched squeal coming from outside the room. Their heads turned as one to the monitor for the camera in the hallway outside Bogo's office.

Wolford cursed as he saw that both of the officers that had been guarding Bogo's office were down. They had been so busy monitoring Nick's progress they hadn't been paying attention to what had been happening in the rest of the building. He launched himself out of his chair and went out the door at a run.

Judy saw Wolford run out the door and struggled to remove the blanket and get out of the wheelchair.

...

Nick heard the faint sound of the alarm. Dammit, not now. Well, so much for the original plan. They hadn't even had time to set up their trap. I guess it's time to improvise. He had just finished adjusting the last camera, but he was on the wrong floor and at the opposite end of the building from Bogo's office. He slid down the ladder and bolted towards the nearest stairwell.

"Judy, stay in surveillance room!"

"No, I'm going to help Wolford. Both of the guards are down at Bogo's office."

He knew just what he needed to say to keep her where he wanted her "You need to stay there. The ZPD is going to need someone to monitor and direct them to the intruder's location once they leave Bogo's office. Besides, they don't need an injured bunny getting in the way. They need to concentrate on capturing the intruders not on protecting an injured officer."

He heard her growl, "Dammit, Nick, why do you have to be right?"

"Because I am. Now, sit down and do your job. Oh, and remind me to teach you how to growl properly. It loses its point when it sounds so adorable."

He chuckled as he heard her growl again. "Better, but it still needs work."

"Fine, I'll stay safe in my little box. Now go help Wolford and Bogo."

"I'm on my way."

As he ran up the steps, he cursed, like everything in the damn building the stairs were made to accommodate large mammals, forcing him to jump from step to step. Too slow. Screw it, it doesn't matter what may others think as long as I get where I need to be, he muttered to himself as he dropped down onto all fours and scrambled up the stairs more than doubling his pace.

...

As Wolford approached Bogo's office, he had his teeth clenched together, trying to fight his instincts to stop and howl at the sound of the alarms coming out of the office. To his relief he heard one, then the other of the alarms went silent. He was hugging the wall as he approached the office door. He glanced at the two downed officers and was relieved to see several tranq darts protruding from each of the officers. Thank God, whoever did this didn't kill them.

Wolford stopped considering a moment before holstering his pistol and pulling out his tranq gun. It was a risk, but he preferred taking the intruders alive if possible. They need to get answers. He was still several feet from the door when he saw George stumble out of the door. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and tranq gun in his hoof. George was shaking head and looked a little dazed. Wolford didn't hesitate as he fired two darts into the gazelle.

George looked at the darts sticking out of his left arm in surprise. He saw Wolford and turned as he started to raise his weapon before blacking out and collapsing to the floor.

Wolford heard a noise from inside the office. He moved forward, then quickly glancing into the room, then pulled his head back. As he pulled his head back, he saw the dart sail past his head out of the corner of his eye.

He recognized the gazelle in the office from around the building, though he couldn't remember her name. He knew he should wait for backup. Bogo would be here shortly, but he didn't know if George had all of the evidence in the backpack or if whoever was in the room may have some of it. He decided he couldn't take the risk of the any of the evidence being destroyed while waiting for backup.

He switched back to his actual gun and shouted into the office. "This is your only warning. Drop the weapon and put your arms up now. I'm coming in there, and even if you shoot me with that tranq pistol, I will guarantee you I will empty every round of my pistol into you before I blackout. The choice is yours."

Debra's hoof that was holding the pistol was shaking. While she had seen him around the building, she didn't know the wolf in the hallway, but he was a predator. She didn't doubt he would do what he said. The bastard would probably enjoy the chance to kill a prey mammal. But there was still a chance as long as Longshear was successful. She stood up and dropped the pistol to the floor. "Fine, I give up."

Wolford glanced into the office seeing the gazelle with her arms up. He entered slowly, his eyes checking the corners of the room has he had been trained before approaching the gazelle. Once Wolford reached the gazelle, he pushed her forward across the desk quickly cuffing her. Wolford searched her throwing the contents of her pockets onto the desk before leading her out into the hall. As he exited the office, he saw Chief Bogo running up. Wolford pushed the gazelle against the wall growling, "Sit." He watched as the gazelle slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

...

Judy sighed in relief. It looked like Wolford had the situation under control as she watched him pulling the cuffed gazelle out office. She started to relax as she saw Chief Bogo arriving on the scene.

The first she realized something was wrong was when she heard the beeping sound of an access card being read at the door's reader followed by the audible click of the door's lock. She went for the gun in her lap realizing that she had placed it back into the wheelchair's side pocket when she had gotten up earlier. She reached in and pulled it out.

The door flew open, and she froze seeing the unfamiliar ram in the ZPD uniform pointing a gun at her head. She had just started moving her pistol to aim it at the ram when she realized it was already too late as she saw the ram starting to squeeze the trigger. All that flashed through her mind was Nick, please don't hate me, but I'm going to have to break my promise.

...

Bogo ran up the stairs to his office. When he reached it, he saw that Wolford was dragging a cuffed Debra out of his office. He saw that George another gazelle from the IT department was laying on his stomach out cold with two tranq darts in his arm. As Debra slid down the wall to sit on the floor, he walked over and crouched down to her, "Why?"

Before she could answer, he heard two rapid gunshots echoing down the hallway.

Debra smirked at him, "You're too late Bogo. Hopps is dead. Longshear is a professional, and that was a double tap to the head. I doubt there is enough of that bunny's head left to bury it with her body. The recording will be dismissed as a fake without a witness to corroborate it. Bellwether will be mayor again, and together we will ensure that this city's predators are put in their proper place."

Bogo cursed, he had started to move down the hallway towards the surveillance room when he caught himself. Do your damn job Bogo. He wasn't going to take any more chances. His hoof was a blur as he pulled his tranq gun out and shot the cuffed gazelle. He saw the surprised expression on her face as she looked down at the dart sticking out of her leg before she sagged against the wall. He ran past her into his office holstering the tranq gun as he went. He reached his desk and clicked a button on the intercom and spoke quickly into it, "Dispatch this is Chief Bogo, initiate a building lockdown now. Recall the six closest units and have them cordon off a one-block radius around the building. Call the SWAT team and have them assemble outside. Inform the response team that those shots most likely came from the surveillance room. Have them advance to that location as soon as they are assembled."

He pressed another button activating the building's PA system. "This is Chief Bogo. The building is now on lockdown. There are one or more armed intruders in the build. All civilians should seek shelter where they are, all officers report to your assigned stations." He paused, considering a moment before adding, "there is a fox wearing a maintenance uniform in the building. He is armed, and he is working for the ZPD do not interfere with him. Again the fox in maintenance uniform is working for us."

He pulled his gun as he ran back to the hallway. He saw two of his officers running toward the stairs to get to their duty stations. "Grizzoli, Higgins over there, help Wolford get these officers into my office, then take these two and lock them up before reporting to your station." He turned to Wolfard, "Get the evidence back in the safe then look after Johnson and Delgato."

The Chief turned and started charging down the hallway towards the surveillance room.

...

As Bogo turned the corner and approached the surveillance room, he saw the body of a ram in a ZPD uniform lying just outside the doorway. He approached cautiously. He saw the gun lying near the Ram's hoof, and he kicked it away. He bent down checking for a pulse. He didn't find one though he hadn't expected to, considering the wound in the center of the ram's chest. He looked into the open surveillance room, afraid of what he would find. It was worse than he had expected. Oh Judy, he sighed. He could see the wheelchair was lying on its side. Blood was splattered over the chair and on the wall of monitors. One of the monitors directly across from the door was destroyed. All he could see of Judy were her unmoving legs and feet extending out from behind the wheelchair.

He glanced back at the ram on the floor. Well, at least she had gotten her killer. He stepped over the body so he could confirm Judy's status praying he was wrong.

As he moved into the doorway, he took in the scene in the room and frowned. Something was off here. Before he could put his finger on it, he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked behind him. He froze, hearing the familiar voice behind him, "Drop it slowly chief."

Bogo slowly lowered his gun, then dropped it to the floor.

"The tranq gun to."

Bogo slowly removed the tranq gun, letting it fall to the floor. He slowly turned to see Nick standing in a standard two arm shooting stance, aiming a pistol at his head. The fox was panting, and his body was trembling. Bogo could see the rage on the fox's face has he barked out, "This is your fault."

"Nick, I'm sorry." Bogo could see that Nick wasn't even listening to him.

Nick growled, "Well, at least I can take out one of the bastards responsible for her death." Nick bared his teeth at Bogo, "Since nothing is going to prevent me from killing you, tell me why did you decide to turn traitor and work with Bellwether?"

"Nick I'm sorry, I know you won't believe me, but I'm not working for Bellwether, I never was. If I could trade my life for Judy's, I would. I've made a lot of mistakes over the past several months, and I'm sorry. This should have never have been allowed to happen." He looked into the fox's eyes, "So if you're going to shoot me, then just do it."

Bogo saw Nick staring intently into his eyes as he waited for him to pull the trigger. His eyes widened as after several seconds he heard another familiar voice behind him. "Well, Nick?"

Nick growled and lowered the pistol. "Dammit, I think he's telling the truth. I was so sure he was part of this."

"You think he is?"

"Fine, unless he is either a pathological liar or far better at hiding it than even I am, he's telling the truth. So you win the bet."

Bogo dropped his arms and turned to look back into the room. Judy was crouched behind the overturned wheelchair. She had blood splattered over her upper body and face. He could see a small stream of blood running down her face from where a bullet had grazed her scalp below her left ear. One paw held her gun, which was currently aimed at his chest while her other held her phone with the camera facing him. She slowly lowered the gun and placed the phone to her ear, "Did you get that, ma'am? Yes, ma'am I understand. I will let him know. Thank you, ma'am. Goodbye." as she hung up the phone.

"Chief, the mayor would like you to call her as soon as you get things straightened out here." She glanced away from him, "I'm sorry about that Chief, but we were under direct orders to determine if you were involved by any means necessary."

Bogo glanced back at Nick and frowned, the fox was still trembling, and his eyes fixed on the ram's body. Bogo sighed, already knowing what had happened from seeing the blood splattered on Judy. He knelt down next to the body and rolled it over already knowing what he would find. He examined the wound in the center of the ram's back briefly. He had been wrong. It wasn't Judy that had killed the ram. He stood up and held out his hoof, "Nick."

The fox didn't seem to notice and continued to stare at the body.

Bogo raised his voice, "Nick!" He saw the confusion on the fox's face that lasted for several seconds before his eyes finally focused on him.

Seeing the extended hoof Nick reached behind his back, pulling out a second pistol that he handed to Bogo.

Bogo sniffed it smelling the fresh smell of gunpowder.

"Be careful with it, it's jammed."

"Judy, take Nick back to my office and have him sit down. He's going into shock."

Nick shook his head, "I will make it there myself." He slid the gun he held in the small of his back then turned and started walking away, "You will need to carry Judy to your office to maintain the cover that she's more injured than she is although it may not matter anymore after this."

Bogo watched as the fox turned the corner. He knew seasoned officers who fell apart when they were forced to kill a mammal in the line of duty. There were others that in the end just couldn't pull the trigger when the time came. But Nick had been able to push through it and did what he believed needed to be done.

Bogo had never quite believed Judy when she had said Nick had previously saved her life. Now he had no doubt that she had been telling him the truth. If Nick could get over it, he would probably make an excellent cop. He would just have to make sure that Nick got that chance.

...

Bogo was walking back to his office. It had been roughly an hour since the response team had arrived at the surveillance room. Once they had, he had carried Judy back to his office and left her there.

Since then he had quickly checked the surveillance videos confirming that only the ram had entered the building with Debra and George through the rear entrance. He had still had his officers swept the entire building for any other intruders finding none. The ram's body had just been taken down to the morgue, and he had issued the order lifting the building's lockdown.

As he opened his office door, he took in the unusual scene. Wolford was sitting in a chair that was leaning back against the safe's front door on one side of the office his gun in his lap. On the other side, sitting on the floor, their backs leaning against his desk, sat Nick and Judy wrapped in a blanket. Judy's head was leaning against Nick's shoulder. Both sets of their eyes were closed.

He chuckled as before the door had fully opened he found every eye in the room open and looking at him and three pistols all trained at him. "Relax, we have swept the building, and I have lifted the lockdown." He looked at Nick and Judy, "I want to go over tonight's events with both of you and review the surveillance footage. Then I will have Wolford drive you to the hospital."

Judy was quick to respond, "That's not necessary."

Bogo had expected that response, he had never met a cop that thought that they needed to go to a hospital unless they were on death's doorstep. But he could clearly see that some blood had already seeped through the bandage that someone had applied to her head. "Yes, it is, it's ZPD policy. "

He looked into Nick's eyes this time, "I will also be sending our psychologist to talk to both of you tomorrow which is also ZPD policy. Regardless of what you may think, Nick. As far as I'm concerned, you are working for the ZPD."

"I've been in your place, Nick. There is no way you are okay. You are going to have to learn to accept what you did, which may sound easy, but trust me it's not, and talking about it is the first step."

...

Bogo was sitting at his desk playing back the recording of what had happened outside of the surveillance room. He had brought a chair around to the other side of his desk, and Judy was standing on it so that she could also view the video. Nick was still sitting on the floor with the blanket wrapped around him. He had refused to watch the video and Bogo couldn't blame him. Right now he didn't need to be reminded of what he had just done. He wasn't sure Hopps should be watching the video either, considering what had almost happened to her, but she had insisted.

Bogo watched the ram walk down the short hallway, his gun already in his hoof. He pulled out and scanned a badge at the door's reader, then quickly pushed open the door aiming the weapon inside. Bogo couldn't make out Hopps since the ram's back was blocking his view. Then he saw Nick enter the hallway, his gun drawn as he advanced towards the ram. The ram must have heard or sensed Nick since his head turned slightly. As his head shifted, Bogo could see that the ram's shoulders and arm had also moved slightly. He knew that that little involuntary movement was the only reason Hopps was still alive. As the ram's gun fired there was a flash, followed instantly by a flash from Nick's weapon.

He saw Nick attempt to continue firing without success. As the ram slumped to the floor, the fox dropped his gun, knelt and pulled a second pistol from an ankle holster. Bogo watched as Nick again advanced on the now downed ram. When he reached the ram's body, he kicked the ram's weapon away.

Judy came out of the room looking at the ram. She bent down checking for a pulse as Nick covered her. As Hopps got up, Nick reached for her, but she held up a paw stopping him. Bogo watched as the two began to argue Hopps repeatedly pointed back down the hallway as Nick repeatedly shook his head.

Eventually, he saw the fox's body stiffen, then suddenly turn and walk back to pick up the gun he had previously dropped. He placed it in the small of his back before stalking out of view, his face a mask of anger as he passed under the camera. Bogo watched as Hopps had used her foot to push the ram's gun back to his hoof before going back into the surveillance room.

Bogo fast forwarded the video until he saw the image of his back appear. He shook his head as he watched himself move down the hallway. He hadn't been even halfway down it when he saw Nick come up behind him. All he could think was, damn that fox can be quiet. Nick had been following him only a couple arm lengths behind, and he had never even known he was there until he had intentionally revealed himself. Bogo rewound the video and played it back several more times, making sure that he hadn't missed anything.

...

As Bogo continued to review the video, Judy climbed out of the chair and walked back to Nick. She was concerned about him. He had only spoken a few times in the past hour. Each time he had it had been in a distant, flat tone. He was currently staring at the wall, apparently unaware she had moved up next to him.

"Nick, are you alright?"

"I'm just tired and want to go home."

Bogo heard the fox and looked away from his computer to Wolford motioning to him. Wolford got up and walked over to the two mammals.

"Let's get you two out of here and back to your homes."

"Nick, why don't we have Wolford drop you off on the way to the hospital?"

She tried to hide her relief as his head snapped up and his eyes came back into focus, and an edge of anger returned to his voice, "That is not going to happen Carrots. Someone tried to kill you tonight. I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know it's not going to happen again."

Bogo answered "Nick, Hopps should be safe now. Debra was under the impression that eliminating her as a witness would discredit the evidence, which isn't true. If something had happened to Hopps, her police report would still have been enough corroboration to put Bellwether away."

Judy helped Nick up off the floor, "Nick. I'm not complaining, but why did you go to the surveillance room? I told you to go help Bogo and Wolford," as he got to his feet, he pulled her into a hug, ignoring all of the blood that was still covering her.

He smiled wanly at her, "I told you when we started this case that I was going to refuse any order that I deemed went against our personal safety. Bogo and Wolford had an entire building full of officers to call on. They didn't need me. If there was the slightest chance you were going to need me, then I was going to be there for you." He paused for a moment before adding, "Judy, I will always be there when you need me." He felt her now familiar paw rub along his muzzle, and he closed his eyes enjoying the feel of it.

"I know you will be, and I will be there for you."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _Well, there is the conclusion of the mole hunt mini-arc. This chapter was my first attempt at creating both action and suspense scenes. Hopefully, they came off okay. Next chapter will get back into more Hopps/Wilde shipping._

 _I also wanted to mention that I now have two proofreaders. Pararaptor who has been helping for quite a while, and now uomoape. I really want to thank these two. It's because of them that the chapters being released now have far fewer errors than when I first started writing this fanfic._


	13. Chapter 13

Nick was sitting anxiously in the waiting room at the hospital. He wanted to be with Judy, but the staff had refused to let him go with her while they performed an MRI on the bunny.

Wolford glanced at the fox sitting next to him, "Relax Nick, the doctor said it was just a precaution. Judy doesn't even appear to have suffered a concussion. I'm sure she's fine."

After a couple of minutes, Wolford asked, "Nick, what is your last name anyways? The Chief and Judy never mentioned it."

Eventually, Nick just replied, "It's probably better if you just keep calling me Nick."

Nick saw the wolf looking at him questioningly. "I'm sorry, but I made a promise I wouldn't tell anyone from the ZPD. You seem nice enough, and I may end up working with you in the future. So, I don't want to give you a fake name and have you annoyed with me."

"Does Judy at least know who you are?"

Nick relaxed, "Of course she does. She is my girlfriend after all." He looked at the wolf, "But please don't ask her. She also promised not to tell anyone, and it would just make her feel bad when she couldn't."

Neither spoke for several minutes until Wolford asked, "So, you're a bodyguard? I have never actually heard of a fox doing that before."

Nick shrugged, "A while back, I did something that got me noticed within Fox Town. At the time, I decided to switch careers and try something new. So, a friend and I took the required training and got licensed. It was easy to find work, and we did it for around a year. It wasn't hard work, and it paid decently, but after a while, I got bored with it. Around that time, I came across something that paid quite a bit more and required a lot less effort. So, I stopped doing it. It was easy enough to renew the license each year, and it always gave me something to fall back on if I needed to. So when the need came up, it was easy enough to dust it off so that I could watch Judy's back. "

"If you aren't normally a bodyguard, then what do you do?"

Nick smirked, "Well, for the moment it appears that I have been drafted by the ZPD. Before that, I was doing several things, although primarily I was selling popsicles on the street."

Wolford looked at the fox with open skepticism, "Yeah, right. So you're claiming you are just a simple popsicle vendor, who just happens to go about covertly fixing surveillance systems, saving the lives of ZPD officers, and solving major crimes in his spare time?"

Nick smiled and continued to looking down the hallway down which they had taken Judy, "Precisely."

Wolford laughed then scrutinized the fox.

After a moment Nick noticed and asked, "What?"

"I'm just trying to figure out where you hide the cape and tights."

Nick burst out laughing, "You don't want to know."

Nick had to admit it felt good talking to Wolford. It was nice talking to someone that didn't seem to have any negative preconceptions about foxes. Besides it was helping to take his mind off of the things he had done this night. For the first time in hours, he was finally feeling like himself again.

"So should I even ask why you feel it's necessary to constantly change your appearance?"

Nick grinned, "Come on I can't be seen wearing my cape and tights without having at least one or two secret identities can I? Where would the fun be with that?"

Nick finally saw Judy being pushed down the hallway in a wheelchair. He saw her smile at him when she saw him. He got up and walked over to her. "Hey beautiful, I would ask if you come here often, but I already know the answer to that question. If you don't start being more careful, I may have to invest in this hospital."

He took her paw and walked alongside her back to the examination room. "So, how did it go, Carrots?"

The nurse answered for her. "She's just fine and will be ready to leave as soon as we can finish the paperwork."

Wolford was surprised when he stopped in front of the apartment building. To say the neighborhood was bad was an understatement. Nick had told him he had been making decent money at one time, but he must have fallen on hard times. Maybe Nick had been making his living off of selling popsicles. Wolford felt sorry for him if this was the only place he could afford to live. Wolford watched as Nick opened the passenger door and scrambled down from the patrol car.

After Nick had exited the car, Wolford asked, "Okay, Judy, so where do I drop you off at?"

Judy laughed then turned and slipped down from the patrol car into Nick's waiting arms. She called back up, "I thought you would have figured it out by now, Wolford. I live with Nick, after all, he is my mate. Oh, and thanks for the ride home."

"Yeah, thanks, we will see you around," Nick paused for a moment then with a sly grin said, "and ask that lynx of yours out. It might be nice to be able to hang out some time with another interspecies couple."

Wolford watched slack-jawed as Judy waved at him while the fox carried her into the apartment building.

Nick was lost in thought as he carried Judy to their apartment. He was curious why Judy had told Wolford he was her mate and not her boyfriend. It was obviously a bunny thing, but it seemed strange to him. Foxes didn't refer to their partners as being their mate until after they were married. Thinking back, he realized she had been referring to him as her mate ever since they had slept together. While they had mated, it just seemed odd that Judy apparently wanted people to know about it.

He decided he would have to discuss it with her when they got the chance since it might get awkward if she said it when other foxes were around. Nick simply added it to the list of the dozens of other things he needed to discuss with Judy. But right now, he was too tired to talk about anything. He wasn't sure why, but he felt more tired than he ever had in his life. He was relieved when they finally reached the apartment door.

As they entered Judy looked at Nick with concern. He had put her down as soon as they had reached the apartment and he looked utterly exhausted.

"Well Judy, I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed," as he started walking towards the bedroom.

"Uh Nick, we still need to get cleaned up. You have quite a bit of blood on you from holding me."

She saw him stop and sag a little before responding, "Okay, let me know when you're done in the bathroom."

"Come on Nick", as she pulled him towards the bathroom. "We can help each other get cleaned up."

Judy lathered and rinsed Nick's ears then frowned. "Nick, how do I get this stuff off?"

"Just leave it. I don't want to have to spend the time putting it back on if Bogo wants us back at the headquarters building tomorrow."

"No. It's coming off now."

"Why? It's just a little makeup."

"Because when I wake up in the middle of the night. I want to see my fox lying next to me, not some stranger."

"Judy, first of all, it 5:30 in the morning, if you wake up it will be the middle of the day, and second it's still me under the makeup."

"I don't care. How do I get it off? Or do you really want to sleep on the couch?"

Nick sighed, realizing it wasn't worth arguing over it. "Hang on." He slowly got up out of the tub, walked over, and removed a bottle from under the sink before returning. Once seated again, he handed the bottle of shampoo back to Judy.

Nick closed his eyes and leaned back against Judy enjoying the feel of her paws washing him. It felt amazing. He mused that it had to be a combination of her silky soft fur and that she didn't have any real paw pads.

"Nick?"

Nick woke with a start. "What?"

Judy chuckled, "You fell asleep dear. You need to get up so we can rinse off. Then we can go to bed."

He shifted around settling his head into a more comfortable position against her chest and consequently pushing her tighter against the back of the tub. "Nope, this is just fine, goodnight Carrots."

Judy's arms were wrapped around his neck as she gently ran her paws through his chest fur, "I'm serious, Nick," as she tried not to laugh, "You need to get up."

He tilted his head back and cracked an eye open looking up into her face before closing it again. "Have I told you how beautiful your eyes are?"

"That's nice Nick, but it isn't going to work. You still need to get up."

Nick growled playfully, "This is unfair, I'm so comfortable." He slowly stood up, and then helped Judy to her feet, before turning on the shower.

As they were toweling off, Judy glanced at him seeing his blue eyes, "Nick, lose the contacts too."

Nick rolled his eyes before going over to the sink. He quickly removed and disposed of the contacts into the waste basket, before turning back to Judy. "Better?"

"Much, there's my fox," as she pulled him down and kissed him.

Nick left the bathroom to give Judy some privacy. He pulled a pair of boxers out of a dresser drawer and put them on before taking a seat on the edge of the bed and waiting for her.

Judy came out a few minutes later carrying the medical supplies. Nick grinned enjoying the view when Judy didn't bother putting anything on before having him change her bandages. He watched as she slid in between the sheets still naked. Nick quickly took his turn in the bathroom. When he exited, he was naked again. He tossed the boxers into the corner of the room before climbing into the bed.

Nick pulled Judy close to him. He could feel the heat of her body radiating through the cool layers of their damp fur. He rested his muzzle on the top of her head breathing in her sweet, earthy scent. It was stronger than usual due to the dampness of her fur.

As he held her, he noticed the gradual change in her scent. "Judy, that's not fair. I really am exhausted."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I can't help it. Just ignore it and go to sleep."

He continued to hold her, trying to ignore the new scent as it continued to grow stronger until he felt his body reacting to her released pheromones. After a minute he gave up, "Judy, how the hell am I supposed to ignore an excited bunny lying in my arms."

She turned over with a little smirk on her mouth and pulled him into a long kiss. As they separated, she whispered, "Well, then I guess if you want to get any sleep. You're just going to have to do something about it aren't you?"

An hour later Nick stumbled into the kitchen, panting. He filled a glass with water then quickly drained it. Nick filled it again along with a second glass then pulled a bowl from a cabinet. He opened the fridge and filled the bowl with blueberries, stuffing several into his mouth.

Nick picked up the glasses as he made his way back to the bedroom thinking, I swear that bunny is going to be the death of me. He chuckled to himself, but what a way to go.

As he reentered the bedroom, he saw Judy was lying on her side fast asleep. He shook his head, That's not fair, Judy, I was the one that was exhausted.

As he set the glasses and bowl on the nightstand, he heard Judy's phone ring. He growled, You have got to be kidding me.

He picked up the phone seeing a request for a video call and a picture of Judy's parents on it. No. Not going to happen. He dismissed the call and climbed into the bed.

He groaned as the phone rang again. He reached over and dismissed it again. Can't some mammals take a hint? It's 6:30 in the morning!

He growled in irritation as it started ringing for the third time. He cursed, picking up the phone and carrying it out of the bedroom before answering it tersely, "What?

He saw the startled faces of Judy's parents.

"Nick?" Bonnie asked hesitantly.

Nick rubbed his face with his paw trying to get his irritation under control and focus his clouded mind.

"I'm sorry about that, but I haven't had any sleep for over 24 hours, and I'm running on fumes. Anyways, what can I do for you?"

He saw Judy's parents relax. Bonnie was the first to speak, "Nick, I want to talk to Judy."

Nick shook his head, "No. She had a rough night and just fell asleep a couple of minutes ago. So I'm not going to wake her up."

He could see the worry on her parent's faces as Bonnie asked, "Is she alright? The news is saying that there was shooting at the ZPD headquarters building last night. They're saying that there are unsubstantiated reports that Judy was involved and was injured."

Nick sighed, and for a moment and considered waking Judy. He rubbed the bridge of his muzzle and looked at the ceiling briefly as he tried to figure out what to say. Eventually, he just decided to tell them the truth. He looked back at the worried faces, "I'm not sure what Judy would want me to say, but the truth is that we were both involved and yes Judy did receive a minor injury."

Stu was quick to ask, "What kind of injury?"

"A bullet grazed her scalp and ..."

Stu interrupted Nick, "SHE WAS SHOT?"

Nick glared into the phone a moment seeing Stu look a little embarrassed at his outburst.

Nick the continued, "As I was saying, a bullet grazed her scalp. It is just a small wound under her left ear. It didn't require any stitches and the doctor said it's small enough that it most likely won't even leave a scar."

Nick could see the relief on their faces.

"Can we see her?" Bonnie asked.

"Hang on." Nick walked into the bedroom and had turned the camera so that it was almost facing Judy when he realized what he was doing and quickly turned it back and covered it with his chest. He walked over to the bed and pulled the sheet over Judy's naked body leaving just her head exposed and hoping that her parents hadn't seen anything. He aimed the camera at her face for a minute knowing that her parents would be able to see the small bandage under her ear. He then walked out into the living room before speaking again, "See, she's fine."

Bonnie smiled at him, "Thank you, Nick."

"Well, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I really do need to get to bed."

"That's okay, and Nick, please take good care of our daughter."

"Of course I will. Goodbye."

Nick hung up the phone then headed back into the bedroom.

Finally, he thought has climbed into the bed and closed his eyes. He felt Judy shifting in the bed next to him. A moment later, his eyes flew open as he heard the sound. Nick pulled the pillow out from under his head then covered his head with it before whining into it, God, why do you hate me so much? After a minute he rolled onto his side and wrapped the pillow over his ears as he looked bleary eyed at the bunny that was lying on her back snoring loudly.

Stu sat in a chair next to Bonnie in their dining room not quite sure what to say. They had been sitting quietly for several minutes after hanging up the phone. It was obvious that Nick had been nearly asleep on his feet. Stu doubted that he was even aware that the phone's camera had revealed several times that he had been naked. The camera had also briefly shown the naked form of Judy lying on the bed before Nick had covered her up.

Eventually, the only thing Stu could think to say was, "Well, I guess we were wrong when we assumed Judy was gay after rejecting all of those bucks we set her up with."

"Apparently," Bonnie chuckled, "I guess we should have thought to try setting her up with males from other species."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"What can we do other than give them our support? I'm not going to alienate our daughter because of it. Besides this is Judy, she wouldn't have chosen a mate she wasn't in love with."

Stu asked, "Are you sure they are already mates?" As he tried to hold out a little hope that they weren't, despite the overwhelming evidence.

Bonnie laughed, "Please, Dear. Judy may not have shown any interest in the males we set her up with, but she is a bunny. Once she made her decision, she would have dragged that poor fox into the closest available bed, assuming they even made it to a bed."

Stu sighed, "It's just that I'm worried about her. I can't even imagine how hard their lives are going to be."

"Don't worry too much about it dear. I'm sure Judy will manage it somehow. I swear that girl received all of your grandfather's genes, and you know what he managed to accomplish for this family. Besides, with her living in Zootopia, I will sleep easier knowing that she has a predator watching out for her."


	14. The Bunnies and the Foxes

Judy woke in a cold sweat gasping for air. Her fur plastered to her body. The remnants of the dream still fresh in her mind. She glanced at the clock, 10:05. It was the fourth time that she had awoken from the same nightmare. She could still see the barrel of the pistol and the ram's hoof pulling the trigger in her mind and shuddered.

She got up and went to the bathroom before returning to bed. As she climbed back in, she could see Nick tossing in his sleep whining her name. She took his head in her arms and whispered in his ear as she stroked his head. "I'm okay Nick, you saved me. I'm safe." She smiled as his snout buried itself in her neck fur and she could feel him breathing in her scent before he calmed down and his body relaxed.

Judy released Nick and lay on her back next to him. While she was damp from sweat, it didn't seem to be helping. The apartment was already getting hot, and Judy wondered whether it had A/C. She closed her eyes knowing that regardless of the dreams she needed to get what sleep she could. After a minute Judy turned on her side and looked at Nick. She tried to fight her natural urges but found herself slowing inching towards the fox.

I'm sorry Nick, but I need you, she thought. She moved in burrowing into the fox's side. Judy sighed contentedly when Nick turned and pulled her to his body, wrapping his arms around her. She closed her eyes and quickly drifted back to sleep.

Nick woke to the ringing of his phone. It took a moment to get his bearings. God was he hot. Under his fur, his entire body was covered in thin layer of sweat. His throat was dry, and he was panting heavily. His ears felt like they were on fire as they tried to dissipate his excess body heat. While the room was hot, it was nothing compared to the heat that the bunny cradled in his arms was generating. He gently released Judy and turned and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Officer Wilde?"

Nick was confused, "Uh, this is Nick Wilde."

"Hi my name is Pam Felidae, and I'm the ZPD's resident psychologist. I understand that you were involved in a shooting incident last night and I need to setup a time to see you."

Nick rubbed his forehead trying not to pant into the phone. He noticed that Judy was awake and could see the concern in her eyes.

Judy reached out and took the phone out of Nick's paw. "Go cool down, Nick," before placing the phone to her ear, "Hello, can I help you?"

Nick climbed out of bed and went into the living room where he turned on the A/C. He then quickly entered the bathroom and jumping into a cold shower. He sighed as the cool water soaked through his fur. Nick rinsed his mouth out several times before drinking his fill. After several minutes he heard the shower curtain open and then close behind him before he felt the now familiar warm body press against him.

"So, we are going to have a visitor in a couple of hours."

"Okay."

"Nick, I'm sorry about clinging to you this morning. I knew it was hot in the apartment so I shouldn't have done it. It's just that I was having bad dreams this morning and…"

Nick interrupted her, "It's okay Judy. You weren't the only one with bad dreams. I woke up several times myself. I could have pulled away from you, but I chose not to because it was comforting holding you. So, come here and let's clean the sweat out of our fur."

* * *

As they were finishing getting dressed, Nick looked at the bed seeing the sweat stained sheets. "Well, when we finish I'm going to have you help me change the sheets. We have been abusing that set the last couple of days." He smiled when he saw the blush he had been expecting from the bunny.

Judy glanced at her pile of dirty clothes, "Actually, after the doctor's visit maybe we can go find a laundromat. I really would like to wash all of my clothes."

"We can do that here."

"You have a laundry room in the building?"

"Sort of, follow me."

Nick walked past the bathroom to the entryway closet. Judy had seen Nick open the folding doors on one side of the closet before but this time he opened them on the other revealing a stackable washer and dryer.

Judy groaned, "Nick, I wish I knew this was here. If I had, I would have washed all of my new clothes the other day."

"I doubt that. We have been pretty busy the last couple of days. I'm looking forward to having some time to relax with my girlfriend."

Nick carried the laundry out of the bedroom before saying, "Well, I need to use the little fox's room for a bit. So I will be back to help shortly."

"Take your time. You wouldn't believe how many loads of laundry I have done over the years. This amount is nothing."

Judy started a load of laundry then began to sort out the next couple of loads. As she sorted through the clothes, she pickup of up one of Nick's shirts. She felt something in the pocket and pulled out the business card.

* * *

Nick came out of the bathroom to face an enraged bunny. Judy's paws were on her hips, and her right leg was tapping furiously on the floor as she scowled at him. His first reaction was that he wanted desperately to smile since she was adorable when mad. He just barely managed to keep a straight face as he asked, "Uh, so what did I do? I'm pretty sure I didn't leave the seat up."

Judy ignored his attempt at a joke and growled out, "Who the hell is she, Nick?"

Nick was confused, "She who? What are you talking about?"

Judy's paw was a blur, and Nick barely made out something white before it was sailing through the air and striking him between the eyes.

Damn, I'm lucky she didn't take out one of my eyes with that throw, he thought, as he saw a white card fall to the floor. He briefly rubbed where the card had struck him before reaching down for it.

"Will you calm down, Judy? You are going to tear those stitches. I don't know what you think I did but please relax and let's talk about it." He picked up the card seeing 'The Bunny Boutique' with an address on one side, on the other was a brief note. "Call me Foxy. I'll make it worth your while." It was signed Cindy with a little rabbit shaped smiley face instead of a dot over the 'I' and a phone number.

Nick chuckled as he looked at the card, "This is what has you so upset?" As he looked up he realized that that was exactly the wrong thing to say as Judy's look turned darker, she looked like she was seconds away from lunging for his throat.

"Are you seeing someone else? She waved her arm, "Was all this just so that you could get some dumb bunny from the sticks into your bed?"

"Judy, no I'm not seeing anyone else. As for this," as Nick held up the card, "you met Cindy the other night. She was that bunny that helped you select the clothing I bought you. She slipped this into my pocket when I was leaving the store. I had completely forgotten about it."

Nick could see Judy was mulling it over, although her foot hadn't slowed in the least.

"Judy, honestly I didn't ask for her number or anything. If you remember her, she looked like she was still in high school so there was no way I would have ever called her. Regardless, how can you be angry? We weren't dating at the time, and as far as I knew, you were planning on going back to BunnyBurrow in a couple of days so I probably would have never seen you again."

Nick watched as Judy's anger melted away. As she walked over to him and hugged him, he could see she was already starting to cry. "I'm sorry Nick, I never felt this way about a guy before and I don't want to lose you."

"Judy, you're not losing me. I've told you before I'm not interested in any other females." He paused for a moment before asking, "Is this about that receptionist last night?"

Judy groaned, "Yes. No. I don't know, Nick. I guess it's a rabbit thing. It's hard to explain."

"Come on let's get you off that leg and talk about it," as Nick guided Judy over to the couch. He smiled when Judy immediately pressed against him, and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Judy, I know we have been tiptoeing around the differences between rabbit and fox relationships, but I don't think we can do that any longer. Not without one or both of us getting hurt. I think we need to start discussing the differences and come up with some compromises before one of us does something that tears this relationship apart."

As Nick looked down at her, he could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes and knew his face had to be reflecting the same emotions. He was sure they were both thinking the same thing. What if there were fundamental differences that couldn't be bridged?

He looked into her eyes, "Judy, the issue with the card and the receptionist weren't the whole problem where they? I've done something else wrong, haven't I? What is it?"

Judy glanced away gearing up her courage before eventually asking in a quiet voice, "I have offered myself to you twice now, and you haven't accepted me. Is it because there's some else? Or are you just keeping your options open?"

Nick was puzzled having no idea what Judy was talking about, but before he could ask her anything she continued speaking.

"I guess I can understand. I mean you are handsome and just over the past couple days nearly every female I have seen has shown an interest in you. I know I'm not much of a catch. I'm just a plain gray bunny. I have many sisters that are far more attractive than I am, and I have never tried to be very feminine. I also know I'm far more aggressive and stubborn than other bunnies, but I thought we had a connection."

"Judy, stop it!"

Judy's eye widened at the anger in Nick's voice.

"Judy, will you stop talking down to yourself. You are perfect just the way you are, and I'm not trying to keep any options open, whatever that means. I just don't know what you mean by not accepting you, or why you think that I haven't. I have willingly mated with you multiple times, and I'm looking forward to many more opportunities in the future if you're willing. I just don't know what you are expecting from me."

Judy looked confused then blurted out, "Nick, why haven't you marked me?"

Nick's eyes went wide, "Is that what you have been expecting from me?" He watched as Judy slowly nodded. He sighed, "Was that something that was supposed to happen when we first mated?" He saw her nod again.

Nick sighed, "Okay, so now let's talk about it. But let me make it clear before we begin, the reason I didn't mark you has nothing to do with you or with me not accepting you. It has to do with how fox relationships work." He pulled her in a little tighter. "Okay, let me explain a little about foxes and please try not to get too upset by anything I say since I'm sure it is quite different than for rabbits. I suspect there is going to have to be room for compromises on both our sides."

Nick gathered his thoughts for a while before continuing, "Judy, fox relationships evolved from when we were savages. Back then foxes were one of the only species that mated for life. While it's not quite like that now, foxes take their time in choosing a mate. We date and often live with a potential partner for years before getting engaged. Once engaged it may be another year until they are married. Normally it's not until the couple has been married for a while before kits come into play. It's slow, but the results are that divorces are practically unheard of for foxes."

"As for marking. Foxes don't mark each other until they are at least engaged and then it's only done once both partners have agreed to it."

Nick looked down at Judy seeing the fear in her eyes. She was biting her lower lip then whispered out, "Years?"

"Yes, years. Two to three years is pretty typical for foxes, although I know of several that have waited for as long as five."

Judy closed her eyes as realization struck home. She had messed up. She had just assumed that the basics would be the same between their species. She didn't know what to do or what to tell Nick. If she explained everything, he might just bolt for the door, and she may never see him again.

She shuddered at the thought of years, before replying in a quiet voice, "Nick, I can't wait that long."

"I'm not asking you to. Just explain how it is with rabbits."

"With rabbits, our relationships occur much faster than that.

Nick stared at the wall waiting, but when Judy hadn't said anything for over a minute. He looked down at the bunny. She was avoiding looking at him. "Judy, what's wrong? I have to know if we are going to work this out."

He noticed her ears were bright red in embarrassment, "I know, I know, it's just that we don't like to discuss it even with other bunnies, let alone with foxes."

She covered her eyes with her ears before beginning, "Thousands of years ago when predators were hunting rabbits. The only way my species survived was to continuously produce as many bunnies as quickly as possible so that predators couldn't wipe us out." There was a long pause before she continued so quietly it was almost a whisper, "Unlike most other prey species we never evolved out of that need. Our instincts regarding mating are just the same as they were thousands of years ago."

Nick sat absorbing what Judy had said. He tried to correlate it with what little he knew of rabbits but drew a blank. "I'm sorry I don't understand, so bunnies are good at multiplying, I get that, but what does that have to do with relationships and marking?"

After a minute she asked, "Nick, do you know how many rabbits are out there?"

"Oh, I suspect there are a few, but there's only one I'm interested in," as he smiled down at her.

Judy rolled her eyes and looked up at him briefly before replying, "Nick, there are over half a billion rabbits. I know it's crazy and we should be able to rationalize that we are all different. But when it comes to finding a mate, we don't like to admit it, but our instincts kick in, and that rationality often goes out the window. When a female rabbit finds a male she wants, she doesn't hesitate. There is a little voice inside our head telling us if we don't act now that another female will.

Nick frowned, "Judy, it's okay, I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not interested in any other females."

"I know, I know, but ever since that press conference, when you left. For the first time in my life, I've been hearing that voice. It's only over the past couple days that I finally realized what it was. I'm sorry, Nick. I know from your perspective I'm rushing things and it's probably scaring you, but I don't know what else to do. What my instincts are telling me to do are the exact opposite of what a fox expects. It may be why there has never been a fox and bunny couple before."

"And the marking?"

She sighed, "When I mark you it indicates to other female bunnies that you are not available and that if necessary, I'm willing to defend my right to you as my mate. When you mark me, it indicates to other males that you have accepted me as your mate and that you are willing to protect me and any kits we may produce."

Nick felt a chill run down his spine. So the meaning of marking was essentially the same between both species, but foxes only marked when they were positive that a relationship would be successful. It seemed strange to do it so early in a relationship and the discussion of the possibility of kits after just knowing Judy for a month was terrifying. But then he recalled the previous night. When he had thought of her with a male bunny he had nearly unconsciously marked her without her permission, something entirely inappropriate.

He looked at her and still saw the fear in her eyes. "So if we mark each other it will help reassure you?"

He saw the hope flash into her eyes.

"Yes." She smiled as she looked into his eyes, "Then you will mark me?"

Nick just nodded.

"So how do bunnies…?"

"My primary scent gland is under my chin. I will need to mark the top of your head."

Nick's ears folded down, "You will also need to mark my neck and muzzle too. That's what a vixen would do."

Judy asked, "and Foxes?"

My scent glands are in my cheeks. I will need to mark your muzzle, neck, and I guess the top of your head."

Nick started to move forward when he found a paw stopping him. He looked questioningly at Judy.

Judy smiled at him, "Nick, the first time you mark me has to be while we are mating or immediately afterward."

"Why?"

"Because for rabbits marking is all about establishing mating rights."

Nick stood and scooped Judy up in his arms and headed towards the bedroom. "Then I guess I'm going to have to do things the right way this time."

* * *

Nick was lying in their bed holding Judy. He had lost count of the times, but once again found his snout being drawn to Judy's neck as he drew in the scent of his mark on the bunny. As he sniffed at her, Judy lifted her head giving him complete access to her throat.

Nick still found it surprising that Judy had no fear of giving him access to the most vulnerable part of her body. Without thinking, he took a playful nip at her neck then immediately regretted doing so. Nick started to pull back afraid that he might have scared her. He still remembered the look of fear in Judy's eyes when he had flashed his teeth at her during the press conference. Nick relaxed when he heard Judy giggle as her arms reached out and pulled him back into her neck.

"Do that again, Nick."

Nick nipped at her neck several more times before kissing his way up to her mouth.

Judy broke the kiss after a minute and pulled Nick's head down as she sniffed and once again confirmed her mark. She lifted his head and looked into his eyes.

As Nick met Judy's gaze. He saw she had an impish grin on her face as she said, "You're my fox now, Nicholas Wilde, and I don't intend on ever letting you go." Nick felt a chill run down his spine at the conviction in her words.

As Nick settled next to Judy, she laid her head on his shoulder. She asked hesitantly, "Nick would you mind if I were to go on birth control?"

Nick was a little shocked by the question, "Um, why are you asking me? Isn't that your decision to make?"

"Not really. For bunnies, it's a decision between mates. BunnyBurrow is very conservative, and a lot of bunnies are strongly opposed to the use contraception. Because of our nature, most males want to start having kits as soon as possible after finding a mate."

Nick was starting to pant a bit, "Isn't it way too early to be discussing kits?"

Judy noticed his unease, "Nick, I'm not saying I want to have kits now. It's because I don't, that I'm asking. I am a bunny, and it's very easy for us to get pregnant." She considered a moment, "Although I'm not sure about that with you being a fox."

"So what do you want to do?"

"The condoms we have been using are okay, but I would like to talk to my doctor about getting on some form of birth control. But I want to know that you're okay with me doing that."

"Judy with foxes, that's a decision made entirely by the vixen, males don't have any say in it. I will back whatever decision you want to make." He paused for a moment before adding, "Although I do want a say in if or when we start trying to have any kits. Because right now I'm not expecting that to happen for a very long time."

"Of course, Nick. I would never make that kind of decision without you."

Nick closed his eyes and was debating taking a nap when he heard Judy curse. "Dammit! Nick, get up. We need to get cleaned up. I completely forgot about it, but that ZPD psychologist is going to be here soon!"

* * *

The Mayor looked up from her desk as Simon entered her office and immediately walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. He walked over to her desk and jumped on top of it. He took a seat on the desk then dropped a large binder he had been carrying in front of her.

"What's this?"

"That is Bill 134651, 'The ZPD Emergency Fund Act.' As expected, the City Council has already voted on and approved it in record time. It just requires your signature to become law."

"I'm not signing that ridiculous piece of legislation. All it does is indirectly put money into several corrupt council member's pockets."

"That's not true. It also gives the contributors of most of the council members even larger tax breaks." Simon chuckled, "Oh, and I think there is something in there to give the ZPD some additional minor funding. I guess they felt obliged to do that, considering that we almost had open riots in the streets a couple of days ago." Simon grinned at Catherine, "What I like is how they added some additional funding for the Mammal Inclusion Initiative since they know that was your bill."

"Sure, they add funding after both they and Lionheart gutted nearly my entire bill."

Simon shrugged, "That's true, but you still need to sign this."

"Why would I possibly do that?"

"It will keep you on their good side. The upcoming election is only a few months away. This bill is a test to see if you will play ball. If you sign it, then I doubt our opposition in the council will bother with the expense of running a candidate against you. Your only competition will be a couple of fringe candidates which won't be hard to defeat."

"So all I have to do is trade my integrity for the office? Well, that's not going to happen. We have enough friends in the council, and we know enough of the opposing council member's secrets."

Simon laughed, "So let me get this right. You don't want it to look like you're making concessions with the City Council, which is legal. But instead, you want to blackmail several members of the council, which isn't?"

She growled, "It not like that, I'm just not willing to put even more money into their damn pockets."

Simon smiled and casually examined the claws on his right paw as he asked in an off-handed manner, "Did you know that as the Assistant Mayor of Zootopia, I'm now a council member?"

She looked at him trying to figure out what he was getting at, "Well technically yes, it's your job to vote and break ties in the event of a deadlock."

"Yes, there's that, and as far as I can tell that is all that the previous assistant mayors have ever done. But the city's charter is quite clear that the assistant mayor is a full council member. As such I could sit in those boring meetings or vote on every bill if I wanted to." He rubbed his claws on his shirt briefly before examining them again. "I could even add a last-minute rider to a bill if I were so inclined."

The Mayor's eyes opened wide in surprise then looked down at the binder, "What did you do, Simon?"

"Well, obviously I couldn't remove any the things that were so near and dear to my fellow council member's hearts, but I may have slipped a little something in there before the council voted on it. Apparently, they were so concerned about their special interests they never even noticed the addition." He watched as Catherine opened the binder and started flipping through it. "I think what you are looking for starts on page 346."

Simon smiled and sipped at his drink as he watched Catherine read through several pages of the bill. "Catherine, it's not very professional to stain the pages of a bill with your tears."

"Damn you, Simon it's your fault."

He watched as Catherine wiped away the tears before flipping to the signature page where she signed the council's bill containing his addendum into law.

"You are aware we wouldn't be able to implement it until after the election."

"I know." Catherine looked at Simon, "Why did you do this? This wasn't the plan."

"Because no matter what arguments we gave them, they never would have willingly passed it. The majority of the council like things just the way they are and so do the companies that contribute to their campaigns."

Simon sighed, "Catherine, when people find out about it, it may cause as much turmoil in the city as what Lionheart and Bellwether did."

"I can't believe that," as she looked into Simon's eyes, "I refuse to believe that." She rested her paw on the binder, "This is the first step in putting Zootopia back on track to what its founders had initially intended. A city where all mammals have equal rights and equal opportunities under the law."

Simon got up and reached for the binder.

"Simon, please leave it for a while."

He smiled at her, "Of course, Catherine."

As Simon left, the Mayor opened the binder again and started rereading the addendum that restored all of the items that Lionheart and the City Council had removed from her original draft of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. She smiled with the knowledge that even if she somehow lost the election. As of today, her original version the Mammal Inclusion Initiative was now law even if only two mammals in the city were aware of it. Soon everyone would be aware of it, and things would begin to change.


	15. Chapter 15

Nick was lying on the couch relaxing. He and Judy had just spent the last half an hour rushing around getting both themselves and the apartment cleaned up before the ZPD psychologist was supposed to arrive. He listened as Judy moved around the apartment talking on her phone trying to schedule an appointment with her doctor back in BunnyBurrow. Nick was considering turning on the TV when Judy stopped next to him.

She was holding her hand over the phone's microphone. "Nick, I know I told you we would take the truck back and visit my parent next week. But would you mind if we go there tomorrow? The doctor has a cancellation for late in the morning. Otherwise, I will have to wait at least a month to see her. I know you were looking forward to relaxing for a couple of days, but I promise we won't stay long, and we can take it easy while we are at my parents' house."

Nick sighed, "Go ahead and make the appointment." He watched as Judy turned and started talking on her phone.

Nick shook his head as he thought to himself, of course Judy, after all, why won't visiting your parents and telling them that I'm sleeping with and have marked their daughter after a single date be anything but a relaxing, stress-free environment.

Nick considered for a moment. I wonder if Judy would notice if I wore my bullet proof vest under my shirt when I meet her parents. He rubbed his temples for several seconds, on second thought it will probably just slow me down when I'm being chased by the angry mob carrying the torches and pitchforks.

Nick was pulled out of the thoughts when he heard the knock on the apartment door. He got off the couch then answered the door. He was surprised by who was there. "Wolford what are you doing here?"

The wolf smiled, "Chief Bogo sent me on escort duty."

Wolford moved to the side, and a female cheetah that had been standing behind him stepped forward. "Officer Nicholas Wilde I presume, I'm Pam Felidae it's nice to meet you."

Nick's eyes went wide, and he glanced at Wolford and caught the smug smile that came across the wolf's face.

Nick quickly recovered as he smiled at the doctor, "Nice to meet you, Doctor, please come in and make yourself at home. Judy should be available in a moment, and I will be right back after I have a quick word with Officer Wolford." Once the doctor entered the apartment, Nick stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

Wolford grinned at the fox, "So Nick, or should I call you Officer Wilde? What is all this about? Are you undercover or are the rumors floating around the precinct that you are with Interpaw true?"

Wolford was shocked by the angry gaze the fox shot his way as he growled out, "I don't want to hear another word out of you Wolford and don't even consider touching either your radio or phone."

Nick pulled out his phone then quickly dialed a number. "Chief, it's Nick. We have a problem."

* * *

Wolford was leaning against the wall watching as the fox paced outside the apartment door while talking on the phone. Every time Wolford shifted the fox would pin him with his gaze. He didn't know how a mammal only a third his size was doing it, but he had to admit he was feeling very uncomfortable under the fox's constant scrutiny.

Wolford couldn't help but listen to Nick's side of the conversion and wonder what it meant for him.

"So what do you want me to do? He knows my name, address, and face. While he's asking all the wrong questions now, it's only a matter of time until he starts asking the right ones."

"I don't know."

"Well, why did you send him here in the first place?"

"Well sorry that I don't live in the high rent district. I happened to grow up in a worst neighborhood than this one. Besides a cop hasn't been killed in this area in over a year."

"Of course I know that the ZPD doesn't actively patrol this neighborhood, it part of its charm. What does that have to do with it?"

"Well, then hire more cops and have them patrol the neighborhood rather than just sending them in to clean up after the fact."

Wolford watched as Nick groaned, closed his eyes, and started rubbing the bridge of his snout. "Look while I would love to discuss this is more detail Chief, I think we are getting off track."

Nick leveled his gaze at him, and this time Wolford saw that there was no anger or annoyance in it. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I kind of like the guy. So why don't we just tell him the truth and trust that he will keep his mouth shut?"

Wolford didn't like the menacing grin that came to the fox's face. "Well if he goes to the media then I'm sure you can think of something." Nick chuckled, "Maybe just transfer him to TundraTown and let him spend the rest of his career either being a meter maid or directing traffic in a foot of snow."

Wolford couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

"Fine. I will talk to Wolford than have him call you."

Nick hung up the phone and looked at the wolf. "Well Wolford, It looks like you are going to get some of those answers you want. But there is going to be a price. You will have to promise to keep all of this information to yourself for the next several months, okay?"

"Uh. Sure Nick."

Nick could see that the wolf was a little nervous, "Good, now I need to check on what is happening with the doctor. Then before you leave, I will answer what questions I can. But I will tell you right now. The answers are a lot more mundane then you may be hoping for."

* * *

Nick knocked on the apartment door then poked his head inside. He saw that the doctor and Judy were both sitting on the couch, although it looked far too small to be very comfortable for the psychologist.

Nick smiled at the doctor, "So where do you want me?"

"Why don't you wait outside with Wolford, I will come and get you once I have finished talking with Judy."

"Sounds good. Oh and Carrots since I know how psychologists love to discuss the sex lives of their patients, feel free to tell her just how awesome I am in bed and just how frequently I can make your toes curl." Nick quickly pulled his head back and closed the door just moments before the box of tissues from the coffee table struck it where his head had just been.

Nick turned to Wolford with a grin on his face as he saw the wolf's raised eyebrow. "What? It's true. I am totally awesome in bed. All foxes are, that's why males from all the other species are so jealous of us."

Wolford couldn't help but to roll his eyes, "Anyways since we have some time. How about telling me what's going on with you?"

* * *

Judy was blushing as she turned back to the Doctor, "I'm sorry about that. That's just Nick, being Nick."

The Doctor was still chuckling, "That's okay Judy. It's a good thing that you are both behaving normally after what you experienced last night. That kind of traumatic event can often cause depression in mammals."

"So before we get to what happened last night and how you are coping with it. I do have a couple of quick questions about your relationship with Nick. It's hard not to notice that you two have marked each other." The doctor cleared her throat, "I can also tell that you two were recently mating."

Judy blushed, "How can you know that?"

The cheetah smiled at the bunny, "I may not have a canid's nose, but even I can detect certain smells."

The cheetah was surprised by the look of defiance in Judy's eyes, "So, I have been making love to my mate, what's wrong with that?"

The Doctor sighed, "Judy there is nothing wrong with it, and it's perfectly natural for you two to be comforting each other after what happened last night. I would be more concerned if you hadn't. But I would like to know if you two had an intimate relationship before last night's incident."

Judy relaxed a bit, "Yes. We were mates before last night."

"Okay Judy, that's fine. My only other concern is that since Nick is a predator and you are prey, I want to make sure that you are both willing participants. I need to know that your relationship with Nick wasn't forced."

Judy grinned at the doctor, "Oh, it took a bit of convincing but eventually I got Nick to see things my way. I didn't quite have to force him into this relationship though he did put up a bit of a fight at first."

Pam laughed, "Thanks, Judy, that's all I needed to know. So now let's talk about last night. Have you been able to get any sleep since the incident?"

* * *

Judy was sitting on one of the dining room chairs in the hallway outside the apartment. Wolford was leaning against the wall across the hall from her. She watched as an older pair of foxes walked down the hall past them. She noticed that while they gave her a curious glance, the look they shot at Wolford was anything but friendly.

As the couple entered an apartment down the hall, Judy looked at Wolford. "They didn't seem to like you."

"It's not me Judy. It's the uniform. The ZPD hasn't done much to win over the hearts of the mammals in neighborhoods like this one."

"What do you mean?"

"There aren't enough cops to put up an active presence everywhere in Zootopia. So poorer neighborhoods on the outer edge like this one, almost have to fend for themselves. By the time we can get here, the perpetrators have already committed the crime and are long gone. All we can do is take down the victim's statements. Frequently we don't have enough resources to do anything more than to perform a token investigation. The mammals living here simply don't see us doing anything for them and have come to distrust us because of it."

"Then why doesn't the city hire more cops?"

Wolford chuckled, "You know Nick was just asking the Chief the same question."

The wolf sighed, "There just aren't enough large mammals interested in being police officers. The problem is with how nature has worked things out. It's pretty simple really: the larger the mammal, the fewer that exist. There are far more wolfs then elephants, more foxes than wolfs, more rabbits than foxes and so on. Since the ZPD was founded, the smallest mammal that the ZPD would train to be a police officer was the size of a wolf. So you have a limited pool from which to draw recruits. Then you add in the long hours and the fact that the job doesn't pay much, and soon you find that there aren't enough officers to do everything that needs to be done."

"I think the reason the City Council passed the Mammal Inclusion Initiative was to see if they could get away with recruiting smaller, more numerous mammals, to fill in all the vacate posts. Unfortunately, that hasn't worked out yet. So far you have been the only small mammal to complete the training."

"In the meantime, with Bellwether's plot, things for the ZPD have gotten worse. When things were getting bad in the city due to the savage attacks, a bunch of the predator cops turned in their badges so they could stay home and protect their families. I suspect the Chief is trying to get them to come back, but I'm sure at least some of them won't return. I wouldn't be surprised if, in the end, the ZPD has permanently lost somewhere between five to ten percent of the force. Then there are the new recruits. Every predator in this city is still on edge. So we will probably be lucky if the next couple of classes at the Academy are even half-full."

They were both quiet for several minutes until Wolford finally said, "Judy, if you and Nick can afford to, you need to move out of this neighborhood."

Judy glanced at her feet, "We are planning on it before Nick leaves for the Academy. He gave me some line about it being inconvenient being so far from the headquarters building and having to switch between different buses and trains line. But I checked, and there is a subway terminal two blocks from here where I could take a direct line to a terminal only a block from the headquarters building."

"Judy, he just trying to protect you. It's hard enough always being on guard while on duty. He doesn't want you to have to be on guard 24/7. You saw how those foxes looked at me. It won't be long until everyone around here knows you're a cop. You don't want to be worrying about possibly getting knifed in the back when you are walking home alone at night, after pulling a ten-hour shift."

"I know. You are both right. I just don't like it."

Wolford smiled, "Well just remember, it's a lot easier not to like things when you're alive. Besides, soon we will have our first fox police officer. Maybe when the city sees more than one small mammal graduating from the Academy, we will start to get more recruits."

* * *

Pam looked over at the other side of the couch where Nick sat with Judy nestled in his lap. The fox's arms were wrapped protectively around the bunny while his muzzle rested lightly on top of the bunny's head. Pam still found it a little hard to believe that a fox and a rabbit would not only have fallen in love but would have chosen to become mates. She wondered if the two would consider discussing their relationship in detail at some time in the future. She would love to publish a paper on it.

She smiled at the two mammals, "As I told you during your sessions, you both appear to be coping very well considering what happened. I will be back for another session in a week. After that session, we will discuss when you might be able to go back on active duty."

"In the meantime, I have some homework for both of you. I want you to get your minds off of what happened last night by getting out of this apartment and doing things. Go to the park, a museum or a movie. Visit with family and friends. Give your minds a chance to process and cope with what has happened."

"Meanwhile if either of you is having trouble sleeping, start to feel depressed, or just want to talk, call me. I have given you both my card, and I'm available 24/7. Just remember there is no shame in reaching out for help."

* * *

After seeing the Doctor out and saying goodbye to Wolford, Nick and Judy returned to the couch. Judy pulled out her phone, "Nick I'm going to call my parents and tell them we will be visiting them tomorrow."

Nick groaned, "Uh, don't be mad. But I forgot to mention that they called this morning."

Judy looked confused, "Why would I be mad?"

"Well I ignored their calls a couple of times, but they kept calling, so I answered it. I guess the news was reporting something about what happened last night and that you were injured. Your parents were pretty upset."

Judy covered her face with her paw, "So, what did you tell them?"

"The truth about your injury, but I didn't say anything about what happened."

"And how did they take it?"

Nick shrugged, "They seemed to take it alright, but I have to admit I was half asleep at the time."

Judy sighed as she looked at the phone. "I don't suppose you want to call them for me?"

"I will if you want me to. But I'm already pretty sure your parents think I'm some half-crazed fox based on the few times I've talked to them."

Judy hesitated several more seconds before quickly pressing the call icon. She saw the image of her Dad appear on the phone as he answered.

"Hey, Jude the dude. It's great to see you. Hang on a second, let me grab your mom."

"Dad that's not necessary." Judy sighed has her dad was already shouting for her mom. Shortly she saw both of her parent's faces on the screen.

Bonnie was the first to speak, "So Judy how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. Nick's been taking care of me. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I have a doctor's appointment in BunnyBurrow tomorrow morning. So Nick and I will be stopping by to drop off the truck and to pick up my things."

"Oh good, we are looking forward to seeing you and meeting Nick. So how long will you be staying for?"

"Not long. I thought we would just stay for the afternoon then take the last train back to Zootopia."

"Don't be silly Judy. You are at least going to be staying overnight. In fact, you should probably stay for a few days that way the rest of the family can stop by and see you and meet Nick."

Judy glanced over at Nick who was vigorously shaking his head no.

Judy looked back at her parents, "I will check Nick," she glanced over at Nick again and watched as he pantomimed plunging a knife into his guts, "but I'm pretty sure he will be alright with it. Well, we need to go and get some dinner, so we will see you tomorrow. Goodbye."

Nick waited until Judy had hung up the phone before asking, "So explain the 'Jude the Dude' nickname and why you allow your Dad to call you that when it hurts you so much."

"I don't know what you mean." Judy looked at Nick and could the serious expression he had on his face.

"Yes, you do Judy. I saw your face when he called you that, and I am good at reading people."

"Nick, I rather not..."

"Too bad, explain it anyways. You have been insisting I tell you about things that I would have rather not. Now it's your turn."

"It just a stupid, childish thing."

"Then it should be easy to explain." Nick reached out and pulled her into his lap wrapping his arms around her.

Judy groaned, "Fine."

She settled her head against his chest before starting, "When I was ten I decided that I was going to be a police officer. At the time I figured that I needed to get into shape so that I could handle anything the world might throw at me. So instead of helping my mother and sisters doing chores inside the house, I insisted on helping my Dad and brothers around the farm. I was out doing things like mending fences, working on farm equipment, planting and harvesting the crops."

Judy closed her eyes for a moment before continuing, "Nick, I was the only female in my parent's first litter. Because of that, I guess my parents have always considered me special. I told you before that I have a large family. Well, my family is large even by rabbit standards. With the size of my family, most of my siblings are lucky if they get to interact with my parents for more than a couple of minutes a day. But my parents have always made time to be with me. Heck, I'm not even living with them anymore, and they still insist on calling me nearly every day."

"When I was thirteen one of my brothers, that was jealous of the extra attention I was getting, came up with that stupid nickname. God, it hurt so much at the time. Trust me. No thirteen-year girl that is just starting to mature wants to be compared to a boy. At the time, I just ignored it hoping it would go away, but soon everyone including my father was using it.

"Nick, I never asked for that extra attention. The sad part is that I know why my brother did it and I can understand why he was angry at me and wanted to lash out. If I had been in his place, I might have done the same thing to try to get my parent's attention."

"It's not right Judy. You should at least tell your parents how you feel about it."

"It's alright, Nick. I have learned to live with it. Besides, it doesn't bother me anymore."

"Of course it doesn't, Judy," Nick replied, as Judy turned and buried her face into his chest.

Nick just held her tightly while gently stroking the back of her head as she sobbed into his chest.

* * *

Judy had stopped crying a while ago, but Nick still held her tightly simply enjoying the feel of her body in his arms.

After a while Judy said in a quiet voice, "Nick, I'm sorry about your shirt. I made a mess out of it."

"That's okay Judy. I have other shirts. So are you feeling better?" He looked down and saw her head nod though her fists were still clutching the front his shirt.

He squeezed her a little, "So do you want me to beat up your brother for you when we visit tomorrow?"

Judy chuckled and looked up at him a trace of a smile coming onto her lips as her fists unclenched, "No. If I wanted that, I would have done it myself a long time ago."

"Well let me know if you want me to hold him down for you. After all, you really should take advantage of bringing your big scary predator boyfriend home with you."

Judy laughed and pulled Nick down into a kiss.

* * *

Nick chuckled, "You know I've never actually seen a mammal melt into a furry puddle before."

Judy groaned out, "Less talking, more rubbing."

"Come on Judy you have had enough. The bet regarding the Chief's loyalties was only for a 30-minute foot massage. It's been 35 minutes and my paws are cramping up," the fox said as he set Judy's foot back down into his lap.

"Please Nick, just another 10 minutes."

"Seriously Judy, we still have to finish the laundry and then we need to pack. Not to mention we will need to get up early tomorrow."

Judy grinned at Nick from where she was laying on the couch, "Fine, then let's make a little deal."

Nick looked suspiciously at the bunny, "What kind of deal?"

"Remember what you wanted if you won the bet."

"Of course, I remember."

"Well, ten no fifteen more minutes and I promise we will do what you wanted after we finish packing."

Judy closed her eyes and smiled as she felt Nick pick up her left foot and started to massage it again. "Nick, between the toes." Judy moaned, "God yes, right there."


	16. Chapter 16

It was 7:00 in the morning and Nick was driving the truck through the congested streets of Zootopia heading towards the highway that would eventually lead them to BunnyBurrow.

Nick breathed in deeply, trying to catch any traces of Judy's mark, but sighed in disappointment. He unconsciously ran several fingers through the fur on the top of his head, then sniffed at them smelling nothing but the faint smell of the shampoo Judy had washed him in this morning. Nick growled under his breath, feeling on edge. He had only worn Judy's mark for less than a day and it already felt like a part of him was missing.

"Judy, this is stupid. Unless your parents are a pair of dumb bunnies, which I highly doubt, they probably already suspect we are mates. Why don't we just tell them? This is going to drive me insane. Foxes don't mark with a female and then just remove those marks. It's hard to describe, but I feel kind of like when you know you have forgotten something behind."

"I know it's driving me crazy too."

"Then let's pull over somewhere so we can mark each other again."

"Please Nick, it will only be for a day or two. I just want my parents to have a little time to get to know you before we tell them."

"So we are telling them this trip?" All Nick heard was dead silence.

Nick sighed after a minute, "Judy, are you ashamed of me?"

Judy was quick to respond, "Of course not Nick. I love you, and I don't care if the whole world knows that."

"Then why are we doing this?"

Judy thought frantically trying to decide what to tell Nick before deciding to answer with the truth, "Nick if my parents know we are mates there are certain things they are going to expect us to do. Those things are going to go against how foxes do things and I don't want to risk them coming between us. Now that we are mates and have marked each other, I'm willing to go along with how foxes do things going forward. But if my parents know we are mates, then I'm sure they will insist on things being done as if we are both rabbits."

"So when are we going to tell them?"

Judy thought to herself, as far in the future as we can get away with.

To Nick, she answered evasively, "When the time is right." She paused a moment before saying, "Nick, I promise we will mark each other again just as soon as we leave BunnyBurrow."

* * *

Nick pulled the truck into the parking lot of the doctor's office. He got out of the driver's side and stretched trying to work a knot out of his back. He looked into the truck seeing Judy with her eyes glued to her phone. "Well, we're here Carrots. You have been staring at that phone the whole trip, what are you looking at that's so interesting."

Judy looked up from her phone. "I've just been reading up on foxes, fox relationships, and interspecies relationships."

"Well, for your fox related questions you could have just asked me. I was a fox the last time I checked."

"Really? I never noticed."

Nick staggered and clutched at his chest, "As the bunny casually crushes that last of her boyfriend's little remaining self-esteem."

Judy chuckled, "If I had any specific questions I would have asked you, Nick. I was just trying to grasp some of the basics."

"Well, while you're at your appointment, I think I'm going to run out and find us something to eat. I'm hungry."

"No. I have some questions for the doctor, and I want you to be there to hear the answers. Besides, you probably have a few of your own. So come on."

As they entered the doctor's office, Nick read the name on the glass door ' _Doctor Jenny Harington - Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology_.' Once through the door, he glanced around seeing half a dozen female rabbits sitting in the waiting room half of which were obviously pregnant. Playing on the floor were over a dozen kits.

Nick froze as he realized that every eye in the place was staring at him. Judy looped her arm through his then started pulling him towards the receptionist's desk.

Nick leaned over to Judy and whispered into her ear, "Seriously Carrots, you are just doing this to embarrass the hell out of me aren't you?"

"Of course not, Nick," as she chuckled, "that's just a fringe benefit."

When they reached the desk, Judy was the first to speak, "Good morning, Judy Hopps to see Doctor Harington."

Nick could see the surprise in the receptionist's eyes when she looked up at two of them. Nick noticed that as the receptionist's eyes settled on them, her look suddenly changed to something he couldn't quite read. There was an uncomfortable pause as her eyes ran up and down him several times while her nose twitched. He was surprised when Judy's grip suddenly tightened as she pulled him towards her. Without thinking about it, he pulled his arm out of hers, then wrapped it around her pulling her close.

"Please have a seat. The doctor will be with you shortly."

As they walked towards the waiting area, he swore he could feel the receptionist's eyes following his every move.

After they had taken a seat, he leaned over and whispered to Judy, "What was that about?" He noticed that Judy was glaring at the receptionist her paws clasped into fists in her lap.

"Nothing, it's a rabbit thing. I will take care of it if necessary."

* * *

Judy was getting dressed in the exam room when the doctor asked, "So do you have any questions?"

"Actually, I have several regarding having kits."

"Judy, please don't tell me you were one of those bunnies that didn't pay attention in school during your health classes."

Judy laughed, "No, I did. It's just that my mate, Nick, isn't a bunny. So I suspect things are going to work differently than what I was taught."

"So what would you like to know?"

"Actually can I bring Nick in here? I want both of us to hear this."

"Of course, I'm actually glad your mate is here since there is something we should discuss with him."

"Really, what?"

* * *

Nick had been surfing the web reading about rabbits and their relationships for well over an hour while Judy was in with the doctor. He had to admit that he wasn't getting very far. All of the websites were designed by rabbits, for rabbits. So it was hard to understand what they were talking about without knowing any of the basics that all of the sites just assumed you would know. He had just about given up when Judy stepped out waving for him to follow her.

Nick followed her back to an examination room. She sat on the exam table, and Nick took a seat next to her. "Are you okay? That took a long time for a simple exam to get some birth control pills."

Judy took Nick's paw, "I got the stitches removed. The doctor said that my leg had healed enough that they shouldn't be necessary any longer. I didn't get any birth control pills, they are not as reliable for rabbits as for other species. I ended up getting an IUD. It's the most reliable protection for rabbits, and it should be effective for the next three years. I can always get it removed if things work out and we start considering having kits."

She paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Nick, the doctor..."

She was interrupted as the physician entered the examination room.

The doctor was surprised when she saw the fox sitting on the exam table next to Judy. Her first thought was that either Judy or a member of her staff was playing a joke on her, but she quickly reconsidered when she saw the way the two looked at each other while holding paws. She looked at Judy, "So have you asked him?"

"I was just getting to it when you came in."

"That's alright." She looked at the fox, "Um...Nick?"

Nick nodded.

The doctor reached out and shook his paw, "Well, Nick, I'm not sure if Judy has told you yet, but she now has an IUD, so most likely you two won't be using condoms anymore. But before that happens, I would like to run a few tests against you. There aren't that many viruses and diseases that can be transferred between your species, but there are a few, and I want to make sure that neither of you will be putting the other at risk. So the real question is are you okay with that?"

Nick looked at Judy, "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Great, Judy why don't you wait outside for a few of minutes. With any luck, we can get both of your samples out to the lab before noon, and then we should be calling you with the results either late this afternoon or sometime tomorrow."

* * *

A short time later, Judy and Nick were both sitting on the exam table again, and the doctor was sitting in the room's only chair looking up at the two mammals.

"So I understand you have a couple of questions?" the doctor asked.

Judy responded quickly, "Yes, I want to know what to expect when Nick and I decide to start having kits."

Nick's eyes went wide, as he tried hard to figure out just how things had suddenly shifted from a possible future where they might consider having kits, to what to expect when they were going to start having kits.

The doctor smiled at Nick's obvious discomfort with the topic. "Well, I can tell you some things, but others you will have to discover on your own. I have never read of any cases of kits being produced between any predator and prey couple. That doesn't mean it has never happened since I'm sure it has. It just means that no one has ever published anything about it. So most of the information I can give you just applies to interspecies mating in general.

"As I'm sure you are aware, interspecies kits are being born all the time, especially with the growing number of interspecies couples. In your case, each kit would predominately be either a bunny or a fox, depending on which parent's DNA is more dominant during fertilization. Usually, you have around a 50/50 chance on what species the kit will resemble. But don't worry, the other mate's DNA will also be in there, so you will see traits from the other parent in the kit. It would be entirely possible to have a bunny kit with green eyes and an auburn colored coat like its father. Just like it would be possible to have a fox kit with its mother's eyes and gray coat.

"As for fertilization, in general, it is a lot harder for interspecies couples to have kits. For interspecies couples, fertilization is usually around ten times less likely to occur. The good news is that Judy is a bunny and since female bunnies release between two to eleven eggs per month. Doing some basic math and most likely it would only take you a few of months of trying for Judy to become pregnant. The bad news Judy, is that you will probably never produce a litter of kits. You will most likely only ever have one kit per pregnancy. I know how large your family is. So I want you to know right up front that, with Nick as your mate, you will never be able to have a family that large of your own."

Judy laughed, "That is alright, Doctor. I have never intended on having a huge family. I just want to make sure that when we want to start a family, we can have some kits."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem Judy. You should easily be able to have up to three a year when you want to start trying."

Nick was startled that the doctor seemed to be worried about how many kits they could have while casually mentioning that with Judy, he could have up to three times as many kits a year then he could have with a vixen.

Judy squeezed Nick's paw, then asked in a quiet voice, "Would they be healthy? I have read a lot of mixed things online about interspecies kits."

The doctor smiled at her, "You don't need to worry about that Judy. While speciest groups like the PRA try to deny it, studies have proven that interspecies kits are less prone to health problems and have better immune systems. So any kits you have should be just as healthy as if Nick were also a rabbit.

"So are there any other questions?"

* * *

As they were leaving the doctor's office, Nick watched as the receptionist walked past. As she did, he felt as she slipped something into his paw.

Once they exited the building, Nick looked at the folded piece of paper.

Judy noticed and asked, "Nick, what's that?"

"I have no idea. The receptionist gave it to me when we were leaving."

Nick could hear the anger in her voice, "Let me see it."

Nick handed it to Judy then watched as she opened it. Judy started cursing loudly, then began to shred the piece of paper.

Nick could see the anger in her eyes as she looked into his, "That does it, you are not going to be out of my sight for a single moment for the rest of this trip."

"What's wrong, Judy?"

"What do you think is wrong? That damn receptionist just slipped you her phone number."

"Okay. I don't get this. I have never heard of a rabbit and fox couple before. Now this is the second time in a week that a rabbit has given me her phone number. Not to mention that that receptionist knows I'm with you. What the heck is going on? Am I wearing a sign on my back ' _Desperate Fox Seeking Rabbit_ ' or what?"

Judy growled, "It's because of me." She looked at Nick seeing his confusion. "It's a rabbit thing. You aren't marked, and they see that I'm interested in you. So it's peaking their interest in why. As for you being with me, that doesn't matter in the least to another rabbit. You are considered fair game by any female unless you are marked. A handsome or successful male rabbit might be seeing multiple females until he chooses to mate and mark with one of them."

Nick chuckled, "This is weird. I have never had any females competing for my attention before."

"Nick, it's not funny. Rabbits, for the most part, are pacifists. Many don't have an aggressive bone in their body, except for when it comes to finding a mate. Fights and challenges between females are far more frequent than I care to admit." Judy avoided looking at Nick as she said in a quiet voice, "It's the leading cause of homicides amongst rabbits by a wide margin."

Judy slipped her paw into Nick's, "It might be better if we keep this trip short. I will feel much better once you are wearing my mark again."

"Judy, you already know my opinion on the matter. I'm ready for us to mark each other again right now, and to hell with what your parents think about it."

"I know Nick. But trust me, there is a reason. You have already made enough compromises in this relationship."

"Okay, but how about we find some place to eat. I'm hungry."

"Let's just head to my parents. It's not that far, and it's lunch time, so there will be plenty to eat. Besides, I'm looking forward to some freshly harvested vegetables."

"I was kind of hoping to get some protein, Judy. I've gone a lot longer than I normally have without any and vegetables are not filling me up anymore."

"We will borrow a truck and get you something tonight, okay?"

"Fine, but I do need some soon or one of your brothers or sisters may end up vanishing when you're not looking. In fact, why don't you point out the one that made up that 'Jude the Dude' nickname for you and maybe I can solve both of our problems at once."

Judy chuckled, "Okay Nick, it's time to go over the rules. While I like your jokes, I'm not sure that my family will appreciate them. So please think about what you are going to say before saying it. I have a lot of little brothers and sisters, and I don't want you giving them the wrong idea about foxes.

"Next, please tone down the growling and teeth bearing. You have been doing a bunch of it, and I don't want you scaring my family. Speaking of teeth when you smile try not to show all of them. It can be a little unnerving for a rabbit that's not used to it." She considered a moment, then added, "Try not to get into any details on your past or what you do for a living. Also, you should probably avoid talking about how we met or any of the cases. Oh, and for god's sake, don't tell them anything about the other night, especially that you had to kill that ram."

"Is that it?"

"For now."

Nick sighed, "Great, no problem. For a moment there I thought you were going to ask for something unreasonable like not eating members of your family." He rubbed his paws together, "since rabbit is still on the menu, let's get to your parent's place. I'm starving."

Judy sighed, "You're not going to pay attention to any of the rules are you."

"Not a single one. Judy, I will try to make a good impression on them. But I'm not going to pretend to be a bunny or try to make them think I'm someone I'm not. Either your family is going to accept who and what I am or they're not. If they do then great. If they don't, then in the future, I will just stay in Zootopia when you want to visit. You said it before to Wolford and I agree, this is our relationship, not theirs."

* * *

A short time later they were driving down a back road out of BunnyBurrow. Nick was in the passenger seat watching as they passed an occasional farm house along the road. "So how much further to your parent's farm?"

"Not much further."

"You don't seem to have many neighbors around here."

Judy laughed, "Nick, they don't have any neighbors."

Nick was a little confused as they passed another farm house. "There seem to be some neighbors to me."

"Nick, every farm house we have passed since leaving BunnyBurrow belongs to one of my brothers or sisters. My family owns all of the land around here. My parents have been sectioning off a plot every time one of my brothers or sisters gets married."

After a few minutes, Judy pointed to a stand coming up on the left-hand side of the road. There is our produce stand.

Nick looked at the small stand. There were at least thirty vehicles parked around the stand. "It seems like you are doing good business."

Judy shrugged, "It lunch time. The stand is always busy at meal times."

They traveled roughly another quarter mile before turning left onto a side road. At the entrance of the road was a large sign ' _Hopps Family Farm_.' Just beyond the sign was a nicely maintained Victorian house off to the right. Nick was surprised when they drove past the house.

"I thought we were going to get some lunch?"

"We are."

"Well, wasn't that their house back there?"

Judy laughed, "We outgrew that house a long time ago. Now several of my brothers and sisters and their mates live there until they can save enough to build houses of their own."

The road ended in a parking lot that could easily hold forty or fifty vehicles. It was empty now, except for a dozen trucks all parked in the front of the lot. Judy pulled in and parked next to the other trucks.

Nick looked around trying to figure out why they were here. In front of them was a large plain two-story building. He could see woods in the distance behind. To the left of the parking lot was a large playground easily the size of the ones he had seen at several parks around Zootopia. To the right of the parking lot was a large field that contained a baseball diamond and several soccer fields. Between the parking lot and the building were half a dozen large covered pavilions, each of which housed six picnic tables. Around a quarter of the table were currently packed with bunnies eating lunch.

Nick looked around in confusion, "So your parent run a daycare center or something?"

Judy laughed, "No. This is the main Hopps residence and those are just some of my brothers and sisters."

Nick looked stunned at what had to be well over a hundred bunnies ranging from several years old up to roughly Judy's age.

"Wait, some of your brothers and sisters? Just how many do you have?"

"Just three hundred and ninety-six. There have been a bunch of bets around BunnyBurrow as to whether our family would break four hundred, but my mom hasn't had a new litter for a couple of years, so that will probably be it."

Judy looked at Nick, whose eye looked like they were going to pop out of his skull, "I told you I had a large family."

"Judy, when you said you had a large family I was thinking maybe nine or ten rabbits including your parents. I didn't think your family was going to qualify for its own zip code." He waved his paw at the rabbits, "How is that even physically possible?"

"I told you rabbits are good at multiplying, and my parents are experts at it. Rabbits can have up to three litters a year. For most rabbits, an average litter is around five kits though my mom averaged closer to seven when she was younger."

Judy slid over and snuggled up to Nick noticing every muscle in his body was stiff, "So is this getting you interested in having some kits of your own?"

"No, this is just terrifying. Now I'm debating whether I should be wearing two or three condoms whenever we get intimate."

Nick looked suspiciously at Judy, "So just how many kits are you planning on having?"

She took his paw and squeezed it, "Oh, no more than one or two," she waited several seconds for Nick's body to start to relax before adding, "hundred."

She laughed as she felt Nick stiffen again.

Nick pulled out his phone and started typing on it.

Judy glanced at the phone, "What are you searching for?"

"The nearest clinic that can perform an emergency vasectomy."

"Har, Har."

"Seriously Carrots, what are your expectations? I never had a father, and I suspect I would make a terrible one."

"I think you will do just fine when the time comes. As for kits, I have always expected to have to fight with my mate over it. Because of our nature, most rabbits usually want as many kits as a family can afford. But I have never wanted to have any more than a single litter."

"Why? That certainly doesn't go along with this," as he waved his paw at the swarm of bunnies.

Judy looked out at her family, "Nick, the only way this works is by having kits raising kits. Ever since I was around five or six, I had to start looking out for my young brothers and sisters. By the time I was twelve, I was more of a mother to well over a dozen kits than my mom was. With hundreds of kits, my mom and dad only have the time to look after the youngest ones. Often she isn't even aware that one of the older kits was sick until long after they have gotten better or until they are sick enough that others have to bring it to her attention. The sad truth is that my mom doesn't know much about most of her kits. With the number of kits she has had, it just isn't possible.

"Nick, I love my family, but I don't agree with what my parents did, and I refuse to put any kits I have through that. When I have kits, I want to be able to spend the time to get to know each one of them. I want to go to their plays, recitals and soccer practices. I want to be there for them any time they need me." She glanced away from Nick, "And maybe I'm just being selfish, but I also want to be a police officer while doing it."

Nick reached over and pulled her onto his lap and hugged her. "You are not selfish at all."

Judy rested her head against his chest, "Maybe I'm just a horrible bunny, but I was so happy today when the doctor told us we would probably only have one kit at a time. All I could think was, thank god I would be able to have some control over that aspect of my life. I don't know how many kits fox couples normally have, but I only want a couple of kits." She reached up touched the side of his face, "But if you insist, I guess I would be willing to have more."

"Judy, a vixen can only become pregnant when she goes into heat in the spring, and foxes have evolved so that we now only have one kit at a time. So unless they're having twins, a vixen can only ever have one kit a year. Probably because of that, for foxes, a large family is considered anything over three or four kits.

"Judy, we still have many years before we need to decide if or when we want to have kits. I know from what I have seen online that mating and kits are extremely important to rabbits, but we have plenty of time. You don't need to worry about it."

"But what if I become pregnant? No birth control is one hundred percent effective."

"Then we will deal with it if it happens. I would never leave you because of that. I don't know how it is for rabbits, but foxes don't abandon their kits. It's not in our nature. Even if our relationship were to fail. I would still always be there for our kit."

They sat in silence a while, watching as the kits that had finished eating were gathering into groups and wandering towards the playground and soccer fields.

Nick chuckled as he looked at the bunnies, "You know they got it all wrong don't you?"

"What?"

"All those movies that predicted the end of the world due to a zombie apocalypse were wrong. It's obvious now that the world is going to end smothered under hordes of cute and fluffy bunnies." Nick shuddered, "What a horrible way to die."

Judy rolled her eyes, "Come on Nick, let's find my parents then get something to eat."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

 _Sorry for the large delay since the last chapter but I have had to work a lot of overtime lately, and it is limiting my writing time. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to publishing a chapter a week again soon._

 _As of this chapter I have raised the stories rating to 'M-Mature.' I have been skirting the edge of a Mature rating for a while now, and I have decided I just don't want to worry about crossing that line anymore. So now that I have committed to it, the story going forward will most likely contain more mature content._


	17. Chapter 17

Nick and Judy were sitting in the truck outside of her parents' home. She had been sitting in Nick's lap for a while now as they watched her brothers and sisters finishing their lunch. Judy didn't want to leave Nick's lap, but more and more of her siblings were looking at them, and they both were hungry.

With a groan, Judy finally crawled out of Nick's lap and out the passenger door. As she waited for Nick to follow a sudden thought came to her. "Nick, you don't mind being touched do you?"

"By you? Of course not."

"No. By others you don't know." She could see Nick was immediately looking a little nervous.

"How much touching are we talking about?"

Judy smiled and took his paw, "On a scale of one to ten I would put it at a solid twelve."

"Uh… In that case not very comfortable. Other than family members and close friends, foxes don't touch each other more than to shake paws. It's a territorial thing. We are pretty big on the concept of personal space."

"I was afraid of that. I found at the Academy that most mammals I met were like that."

"Nick, rabbits like touching and being physically close to other rabbits. It's just how we are. If you placed ten rabbits in a room with several couches, if there is anyway all ten rabbits could fit on a single couch they would. If they couldn't then all of the rabbits that couldn't fit would sit on the floor or stand as close to that one couch as possible."

"Foxes are a little different. A fox wouldn't mind sharing a couch with other foxes as long as there was at least a foot of space between them. If they were any closer than that, then one of the foxes would probably get uncomfortable and move. It's okay Judy, I may not be comfortable with it, but I can deal with it."

"Thanks Nick, I will try to make sure it doesn't get too bad. My older siblings probably won't be a problem, but the younger kits are just not going to understand. You are someone new, and they are going to want to investigate you and needless to say there are a lot of kits here. Let me know if you are getting overwhelmed, and we will find someplace where we can be alone for a little while."

Nick smiled as Judy took his paw and they started walking towards the building, "Well, if that's the case then I'm already feeling a bit overwhelmed. So maybe we should check out your room for the rest of the afternoon. Perhaps you could give me a personal tour of your bed."

Judy laughed, "Nice try. But you're not getting out of meeting my parents. Oh, and it might be nice if you didn't yell at them this time."

Nick sighed, "Carrots, you are taking all of the fun out of this trip."

* * *

As they walked towards the building, Nick could see that the older rabbits were ensuring that the kits cleaned up after their meals, before allowing them to leave the tables under the pavilions. Nick noticed that even though the older rabbits were busy, they all took a moment as he and Judy walked by to greet Judy while looking curiously at him. Most of their expressions turned to ones of surprise or shock when they noticed that he was holding Judy's paw.

Nick glanced around seeing that as they approached the building, they were collecting a larger and larger group of kits following them. Nick tried to ignore the small paws that hesitantly brushed against his free paw, legs, and tail. When they reached the building, Judy turned and sat down on the several steps that lead up to the front door. Nick sat down next to her looking out over the group of rabbits.

Judy smiled and spoke loud enough so that all of the rabbits could hear her, "This is my boyfriend, Nick. He will be visiting for at least the rest of today, so I want all of you to make him feel welcome."

As Nick looked into the faces, he could see the confusion in many of them. Then he saw one of the does who was probably no more than eleven or twelve call out. "He can't be your boyfriend, he's a fox."

Judy smiled at the doe, "Kim, I am well aware that Nick is a fox, and that doesn't matter. He is still my boyfriend."

"But why? There are so many cute bucks to choose from."

"Because we like being with each other. I have never met a rabbit that makes me feel like I do when I'm with Nick. It doesn't matter to me that he's not a rabbit. I like him just the way he is." Judy chuckled as she reached up and ran her paw along Nick's muzzle, "Besides, I think he is the most handsome male I have ever laid eyes on." She leaned in and briefly, kissed Nick before turning back to the crowd. "Well, Nick and I need to get some lunch and talk to mom and dad, so you will all have a chance to meet him later on. In the meantime, go and have some fun."

As they got up off of the stairs, there was a group of half a dozen kits whose gaze kept shifting between Nick's face and his tail. Eventually one of the kits gathered enough courage to ask, "Can we touch your tail?"

Nick looked pleadingly to Judy, who just grinned back at him. When he saw Judy wasn't going to be of any help, he finally conceded, "Fine, but no pulling. My tail is sensitive, and I'm sure none you would want someone to pull on your tails." For the next several minutes the kits took turns petting his tail before running off to the playground. Finally, there was just one young doe left staring at and gently stroking his tail.

After a minute Judy ran her paw between the doe's ears. "I think that is enough Elizabeth. You can see Nick later on."

The kit looked up at Judy and asked in a serious voice, "Are you going to marry him?"

"I'm not sure, but I might. Why do you ask?"

The little doe clutched Nick's tail to her body, "Because I don't want you to. I want to marry him as soon as I'm old enough."

Judy smiled at the kid, "I'm sorry Elizabeth, but Nick is mine. If you think you might want to marry a fox, then you will have to find your own. There are plenty of foxes in BunnyBorrow, and I'm sure there will be a couple in your school this fall if you want a fox as a friend. But you still have a long time before you need to consider finding a mate. When the time comes, just make sure you choose someone that you love."

* * *

Nick looked at the front door to the building and groaned inwardly as he realized he was going to be way out of his comfort zone for this whole trip. One of the advantages in Zootopia, with the exclusion of "Little Rodentia," was that building codes mandated that all doorways and ceilings had to be at least a certain height so that they could accommodate most large mammals. It was a safety requirement since most emergency responders and police were large mammals. So even in an apartment like his where the rooms, counters, appliances, and bathrooms were designed to accommodate small mammals, all of the rooms still needed to be accessible for large mammals. Looking at the front door to the building it was obvious that this was not the case in BunnyBurrow.

As Judy casually opened and walked through the front door, Nick could see that there was quite a bit of clearance above her ears. He, on the other hand, needed to duck down to get through the doorway. The ceiling inside the entryway wasn't much better. He stood up straight and pricked up his ears. He sighed as he could feel the tips touching the ceiling. He hoped he wasn't going to have to get anywhere in a hurry or Judy was probably going to find him knocked out lying in a doorframe somewhere.

"Come on, Nick. My parents are probably in the kitchen or dining room."

"Actually, can you point me to the bathroom first?"

"That's a good idea." Judy walked over to the door just outside of the entryway and pulled him in with her.

Nick stood in surprise as he watched as Judy walk casually past two bucks standing in front of a line of urinals.

"Hi Max, Hi Sam."

"Hi, Judy." Both bucks responded.

Nick continued to watch as she entered one of the dozen stalls.

Nick glanced at one of the urinals that from his perspective looked small even for a fox kit. As he was about to try and use it, one of the stalls opened and a young doe of maybe 13 or 14 came out. Nick saw the surprise in her eyes as she saw him. As she walked past him, she smiled, and her ears drooped turning red. Nick looked back at the urinal then glanced back at the doe that was now at the sink slowly washing her paws. He could see that she was staring at him through the sinks mirror. Nick couldn't help it as his ears folded back in embarrassment. He turned and opened the stall next to Judy's. He looked into the cramped stall and the toilet that was much smaller than he was used to as he thought to himself. Well, this is going to be interesting.

* * *

Nick was leaning against the wall outside the bathroom when Judy finally came out. She looked at him, then burst out laughing. "Well, it looks like you survived."

"Barely. You rabbits are strange. Why don't you have separate bathrooms for bucks and does?"

"Easy, it would cost too much money, besides for the most part, it's just the family using them. If it bothers you then after lunch, I will show you where the guest rooms are. There's a small bathroom there that has a lock on it, and you can use it in the future."

"Sure, now she tells me."

Judy chuckled, "I just wanted you to have the whole Hopps family experience."

She took his paw, "Come on, let's get some lunch."

She led him down a short hallway into what Judy obviously considered to be the dining room. Nick looked around and found that he wasn't that surprised considering the size of Judy's family and what he had experienced with the bathroom. He could swear that the Hopps' had just pulled a cafeteria straight out of a junior high school and dropped it into the house. The room was huge and must take up a significant portion of the first floor of the building. The floor had the low-cost linoleum squares that were standard in all schools. There were numerous cheap pressed wood tables lined up in rows surround by folding chairs. At the front of the room was a serving line behind which he could see a large kitchen. The kitchen resembled one from a school or a restaurant. There were no cabinets. Instead, all of the kitchen supplies were stacked on open metal racks.

Judy pulled him towards the end of the first row of tables. He could see that Stu and Bonnie were sitting there eating. There was a pair of empty chairs across from them, while the rest of the row of was entirely full of rabbits of varying ages.

Even as they approached the table, Nick saw that Bonnie had noticed them. By the time they reached the table, both Bonnie and Stu were already on their feet.

"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Nick Wilde."

Before Nick could extend his paw, Bonnie stepped in and pulled him down to her. She kissed the side of his muzzle, then hugged him. She briefly rested her face against his as she whispered in his ear, "Thank you for taking care of Judy for us."

Nick had stiffened at the unexpected contact, but after a moment his muscles relaxed, "It's alright, Judy means a lot to me."

As Bonnie released him, he saw the small smirk on her face, "I'm sure she does."

Nick couldn't help it as his ears unconsciously folded back at her words.

Nick turned to Stu and put out his paw. Nick's eyes went wide as Stu took Nick's paw and immediately pulled him down into a firm hug. Nick couldn't help feeling awkward as the hug seemed to go on forever.

Judy wanted to laugh as her Dad hugged Nick. She wished she had thought to have her phone ready to take his picture since the shocked look on Nick's face was priceless. She smiled as she noticed that Nick's tail was standing straight out, all its fur bristled.

After a minute Stu finally released the fox then reached out and pulled Judy into a hug and kissed her. "We were hoping you two would get here for lunch. We saved a couple of places for you so go grab some food, then come back and tell us all about what you have been doing in the big city."

"Okay." Judy hugged and kissed her mom before taking Nick's paw and then led the stunned fox towards the serving line.

* * *

As Stu and Bonnie sat back down Stu commented, "Well, they haven't marked, so guess they aren't mates yet."

Bonnie laughed as she glanced over at the two mammals picking up trays at the serving line. Judy had had the same look in her eyes when she looked at the fox, that her other daughter's had when they looked at their mates. Bonnie had no doubt now that Judy was in love with Nick. As she considered it, the lack of marks wasn't that surprising, was it?

She squeezed her husband's paw, "Trust me, at a minimum they are sleeping together, although I suspect they are already mates. Knowing Judy, I'm sure she would have insisted on them marking by now. They probably just removed their marks for the trip."

"Why would they do that? It's not natural."

Bonnie sighed, "Judy's probably afraid we wouldn't accept Nick as her mate. I mean only a couple months ago we both told her how much we didn't trust foxes and you did try to give her a fox taser. Don't worry, I will find some time to talk to her alone and straighten things out."

* * *

Judy pulled out two plastic bowls and quickly filled them with salad, placing one on Nick's tray. Nick cringed a bit inwardly. While he didn't mind an occasional salad, the vegetables from the farm were all they had in the apartment, and they had been living off of them for days now.

As he slid his tray down the line, he could see serving trays containing various raw vegetables. He watched as Judy removed several different vegetables and placed them on her tray. Nick just couldn't bring himself to take any of them. When they reach the end of the line, Nick caught a familiar smell and his tail involuntary began to wag.

He pulled the lid off of a large kettle sniffing at the smell of chicken coming from it. He frowned and his tail stopped wagging as he examined the soup. It was full of vegetables and rice, but he could already tell that there was no chicken in it. It was just artificial chicken flavoring. Even as he realized it, his stomach growled at him in protest. He filled a bowl with some soup and then looked around hoping he could find anything with protein in it. The truth was he was getting desperate enough, he would have eaten some tofu if it was available but he didn't see anything. He sighed and took a couple of slices of store bought bread and then followed Judy back to the table.

* * *

Nick couldn't quite remember ever having a lunch that was this awkward before. Bonnie and Stu wanted to know everything that they had been doing in Zootopia, but there wasn't much that he and Judy could tell them. With the agreement they had made with the Mayor and Chief Bogo, they couldn't discuss any of the cases other than what the newscasts had already revealed. While Judy's parents were aware that he was involved, they couldn't tell them how or why.

Since nearly all of their time together had been spent working on the cases and with Judy's insistence that they wouldn't reveal that they had marked each other, there also wasn't much that they could tell her parents about their relationship. The only thing Judy did say about it was the half-truth that they had met at an ice cream parlor on her first day on the job and that within minutes of meeting each other, Nick had talked her into buying him a popsicle.

Eventually, her parent gave up asking questions, and the conversion turned to things that had been happening on the farm and in BunnyBurrow.

After a while, Stu checked his watch. "Well Judy, your mother and I need to go and check on the kits. So how long will you be staying?"

"We had been planning on staying a couple of days, but several things have come up back in the city, so I think we may head back tonight."

Bonnie frowned, "Don't be silly Judy, I insist you at least spend the night. I want to call around and have all the family stop in for dinner. I think it's important that they all get a chance to meet Nick. Don't you?"

The tone and the way Bonnie had asked the question left no doubt has to what she expected Judy's answer to be. Nick was confused since he had no idea why Bonnie would want the rest of the family to meet him. He watched as Judy's ears turned red as she glanced at him, then answered, "Okay, I guess we can stay the night."

Bonnie smiled, "Good. Judy, all of the guest rooms are currently free so why don't you set Nick up in one of them, then you can take the one next to him. That way if he needs anything he will know where to find you."

Bonnie looked at Judy half expecting her to say that she and Nick would be sharing a room, but Judy just answered with a quick "Okay."

As Stu got up out of his chair, he asked, "So what are your plans for this afternoon?"

Judy shrugged, "I figured I would just give Nick a tour of the farm and have him meet some of the family."

"Well, you two have fun. Just remember to be back for dinner."

* * *

Nick followed Judy up the flight of stairs carrying the two gym bags. She led him down a narrow hallway, then entered an open door. Nick looked into the tiny room that just contained a small dresser, bed, and a folding chair. He noticed the room didn't even have a closet, which after a moment's consideration wasn't that surprising. After all, what was the point of having a closet inside another closet?

Judy looked around, "Well, this will be your room." She squeezed past him, then pointed to the next room down the hallway, "And I will be staying there." She indicated the doorway across the hall, "That's the guest bathroom I told you about earlier."

Nick glanced into the bathroom seeing the small tub and shower and tried to figure out how he could make that work. He finally thought that if they were only staying the night, he could probably wait and take a shower when they got back home.

Judy saw what Nick was looking at and frowned, "I'm sorry Nick, I guess I didn't consider your size when agreeing to this visit. If you can't make this work, I will show you where the buck's showers are, and you can use them."

Judy looked at Nick and noticed he was panting lightly. The upstairs was hot, and it would be getting warmer as the day wore on. "Nick, why don't you change into a tee shirt and some shorts? I will be back in a couple of minutes. I have to locate my suitcase so that I can change into something cooler."

Nick was sitting on the bed when Judy came back a few minutes later. Nick grinned as he looked at her. She was wearing a pair of tight black shorts with the letters ZPD running down the right side and a thin halter top that exposed her midriff. Nick grinned at her, "Please tell me you will be bringing that outfit back to Zootopia with you."

Judy rolled her eyes, then looked at what Nick was wearing and frowned, "Nick, do you have any other tee shirts?"

"A couple, but they are the same shirt just different colors." Nick looked down at the plain white tee shirt, "What's wrong with this one?"

Judy gazed at the tight tee shirt that was hugging the foxes chest and stomach. Nick typically wore clothes that were loose, and they made him look thinner than he really was. But the tee shirt was revealing what she had been aware since the first time they had taken a shower together. Something she didn't want her sisters to see, especially without her mark on him. Hidden under Nick's fur was the muscular body of an athlete. Obviously, climbing a drainpipe to a roof every day while carrying a popsicle that most likely weighed has much as he did had paid off. Not to mention the daily exercise he had gotten while making his popsicles.

"Judy?"

"Ah, what?" Judy tore her gaze away from Nick and blushed wonder just how long she had been silently staring at her mate's body.

"I said can we hurry the indoor portion of this tour along it's getting hot.

"Oh, ah sure." She took his paw, then led him down the hallway.

* * *

Nick looked around the bedroom in surprise. It was small and contained six bunk beds, three along each wall. Standing between the rows, he could reach out and easily touch both rows of beds. Each bunk bed was made up of three beds instead of the normal two. Looking at the beds, Nick was fairly sure that even a rabbit wouldn't be able to sit up in the beds without hitting their head into the bed above them or the ceiling.

Nick had a fake smile on his face, "Ah, cozy." Inwardly, he was cringing at the thought of being in such a tight space with so many other mammals. He took slow breaths as he kept telling himself that the walls weren't actually closing in on him.

"So where do the teenagers and adults sleep?"

Judy shrugged, "All of the bedrooms are the same except for the guest bedrooms and my parent's. Several teenagers live in this room. The adults and teens are mixed in with the kits. That way there is always someone around to keep an eye on them."

"There doesn't appear to be much in the way of privacy."

"With hundreds of rabbits all living under the same roof, there isn't much privacy. You learn to live with it. There are places around the farm a rabbit can go if they want some personal time and you learn pretty quickly to never open a closed door without knocking first."

"Carrots, I couldn't live like this." He looked around the room again and shuddered, "If I had kits I wouldn't allow them to live like this either."

Judy took his paw and guided him out of the room. "Our kits won't have to, Nick." She looked up at Nick's face as she said it and smiled when he just nodded. She noticed that for the first time when mentioning kits his face didn't have a look of concern or panic on it.

They walked down the hallway, and Nick followed Judy into another bathroom that looked similar to the one downstairs. She walked to a door in the back and knocked on it, then waited a minute before opening the door and looking in. Nick could see it was a changing room with wooden benches and beyond it was a large shower room with numerous shower heads.

"So are the showers co-ed too?"

Judy smiled, "No these are for the does. The other bathroom on this floor has showers for the bucks. Though the bucks and does do share the rest of the bathroom."

Then it hit him. He squeezed her paw, "So no bathtubs?"

She shook her head, "No. There aren't any bathtubs."

That explained a lot. He had never really been into taking baths, but every time Judy had joined him in the shower it had always ended up turning into a bath. Although he certainly wasn't complaining about it, he had quickly come to enjoy and look forward to their baths together. In fact, he was going to make sure that their new place had a large bathtub in it.

* * *

As they exited the bathroom, Nick saw a light brown bunny walking towards the bathroom wearing just a towel. The bunny looked just a couple years younger than Judy, and she stopped just in front of them.

"So Judy, what's the deal with the fox?"

Nick could feel Judy's paw tighten on his as she answered, "Sandy, this is my boyfriend, Nick."

Sandy laughed, "Yeah, I had heard some of the others talking about him. I just want to know why you are trying to convince Mom and Dad, that you have a boyfriend."

Nick could hear the anger in Judy's voice as she answered, "I'm not trying to convince them of anything. Nick is my boyfriend!"

"Oh please, if you really wanted to convince them you were dating someone you could at least have brought back a bunny or a vixen."

Without thinking about it, Nick wrapped his arms around Judy as he glared at Judy's sister.

Sandy chuckled at the fox, "Oh, don't be upset, Nick. I'm on your side. I just think you should know that she's using you. I'm not sure why she put you up to this, but you should know that she is never going to let you into her bed. You're not her type." She looked closely at the fox for a moment. "You know you are kind of cute, though. I was going to take a shower to cool down. Why don't you join me?"

Nick could feel Judy stiffen in his arms. He flashed a toothy smile at the bunny, "No. I don't think so. I'm with Judy. Besides, you're not my type."

Sandy looked at the fox in surprise seeing his smug, condescending smile. She had no doubt as to how attractive she was. Her solid light brown coat was rare in BunnyBurrow, and she had many bucks constantly competing for her attention. She had only allowed a couple of them to spend the night with her. She had been enjoying playing the field, and while she had felt the growing urge to find a mate, she hadn't yet found a buck that had peaked her interest enough to allow them to mark her.

Sandy's eyes narrowed on the fox. She had been toying with the fox before and had been trying to twist Judy's tail in the process. While she would have gladly shared a shower with Nick since it would have annoyed the hell out of Judy, she doubted she would have actually gone as far a sleeping with him. But things had just changed. Now she wanted to wipe that smug, self-assured smile off of the fox's face. She wanted to feel those large paws that were protectively wrapped around Judy's bare midriff on her body. Yes, she wanted this fox and taking him from Judy would make it even better.

She had an impish smile on her lips as she locked gazes with the fox and then with a casual flick of her wrist, dropped her towel. She saw the surprise in his eyes and her smile widened as she watched as the fox's eyes traveled briefly over her body. "So are you sure you don't want to join me?"

"Positive."

Sandy frowned, she was getting annoyed as again saw that same damn smug smile return to the fox's face. "Why not? Judy has no hold on you. We can spend the rest of the afternoon having some fun, then if you really want to, you can always go back to Judy. Although I don't know why you would, she has never been much to look at." As she finished saying it, she saw the smug expression vanish and the sudden anger in the fox's eyes.

"You have no idea what you are talking about. Judy is beautiful. She has the same markings as a fox just in a sexy gray color. She is far more attractive than a plain drab bunny."

Sandy was surprised by the response, and as she glanced at Judy, she noticed for the first time that her markings were strikingly similar to a fox's, right down to the black tips on her ears.

"Besides," Nick growled out, "foxes don't cheat on their mates."

Then everything occurred so quickly Nick wasn't sure what was happening. He had just seen Sandy's eyes going wide in shock when Judy suddenly pulled forward out of his arms, turned and then a gray blur struck his chest causing him to stagger back against the hallway wall. Judy's arms were wrapped around his neck, her mouth pressed against his, her tongue seeking out his. He didn't know why, and he really didn't care. He wrapped his arms around Judy, closed his eyes, and delved into the kiss.

Judy was ecstatic. Finally. Nick had finally said it. He had finally called her his mate instead of his girlfriend. Now she just needed him to tell her one more thing, though she didn't know if or when he would be able to. She knew he had been hurt badly in the past, but she could be patient, she would wait until he was ready.

As the two mammals kissed passionately, they didn't notice the sad longing expression on Sandy's face as she watched them for a several seconds before quietly picking up her towel and walking back to her room.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _Sorry for the long delay between chapters, but with work I haven't had a lot of time for writing. I have roughly half of the next chapter written, so hopefully, it won't take nearly as long before I post the next chapter._


	18. Chapter 18

Nick had Judy pressed against the wall outside of the upstairs bathroom in her parents' house. He loved the little squeaking noises she was making as he nipped at her neck. He was about to carry her back to his guest room when she suddenly whispered, "Nick, quick put me down some of the kits are coming."

Nick didn't hear anything, but when it came to hearing he had complete trust in Judy's abilities. He set her down and reluctantly withdrew his paw from its place in the back of the bunny's halter. When the first of the kits ran past, they were both straightening their clothes and breathing heavily. After a short time, half a dozen additional small figures raced past. Finally, a doe in her early twenties followed. As the bunny drew near, she shouted out to the kits, "Now, once you have changed I want you all back here to use the bathroom before going back out to the playground."

The new arrival casually leaned against the opposite wall with a little smirk on her face as she looked at the ruffled up fur on both of the mammals. "So what have you two been up to, as if I couldn't guess?"

Judy took Nick's paw, "Hi Samantha. I was just giving Nick a quick tour of the house."

"So that's what you're calling it nowadays."

Judy blushed, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"If you say so, but you may want to wipe your boyfriend's saliva out of your neck fur before you continue on your tour."

Judy unconsciously moved her paw towards her throat. Her paw froze in mid motion as she heard her sister break out into laughter. She dropped her arm to her side. "Ha, Ha, very funny Sam."

"I thought so, but seriously, you two may want to brush your fur down a bit unless you want tongues wagging even more than they already are. Though to tell you the truth, I'm not sure if that's even possible. I was getting so many texts about you two that I ended up turning off my phone."

Nick could see the now familiar look of annoyance in Judy's eyes and had no problem making out the slight edge in her voice, "What text messages?"

He could see the sudden discomfort in Sam's face, and he knew that Sam had just realized she had screwed up. "Um..nothing really. I should probably go check on the kits."

Before she could move past her, Judy blocked her way, and there was steel in her voice this time, "What text messages?"

"Just some harmless speculation about you and Nick."

"What kind of speculation?"

Sam was looking uncomfortable now, and there was a long pause before she finally replied, "Judy, you haven't dated anyone in years and when you were dating every doe in this house was jealous of you. Mom and Dad set you up with half a dozen of the most eligible bucks in BunnyBurrow, but you rejected all of them."

Sam didn't meet Judy's eyes as she continued, "For a while, we all assumed maybe you were gay, but then you never dated any does." She glanced at Nick, "While we did briefly consider you might be into other species, we dismissed that after a while since there are other species in BunnyBurrow, but you never showed any interest in any of them either."

"Judy, even rabbits that are career oriented, usually find a mate by the time they are twenty-one or twenty-two, so no one could figure out what was going on with you. When you turned twenty-four, most of us just assumed that you were never going to take a mate, but then today you show up out of the blue with of all things a fox." Sam ran her eyes over the fox, "While Nick is certainly handsome, he's still a predator and you're prey, and everyone knows that predators and prey don't date. There's a lot of speculation that you have him here pretending to be your boyfriend to get Mom and Dad off of your back about finding a mate. Though I have to admit that your messed up fur goes a good way to disprove that notion."

Nick could see the anger in Judy's eyes as she ground out, "I'm so glad that my sex life has been the topic of so much interest and discussion over the past several years. Why didn't anyone just bother to ask me?"

Sam crossed her arms in frustration, "Because we were afraid you would be as angry at us for asking, as you are now." Sam paused for a moment before continuing, "Judy, the simple fact is that we all love you and we are worried about you. We want you to be happy, and for a rabbit that means finding a mate. Most of us don't have a problem with Nick, but he is a predator, and we just don't want to see you hurt when things inevitably don't work out with him."

Judy growled out, "Well, I'm so sorry that I wasn't interested in any of those damn bucks that only saw me as a means to get their paws on a large plot of farmland. Not one of them cared about me or what I wanted, and I am not the kind of bunny that's willing to settle."

"As for Nick, he is dating me because he likes me. He wasn't even aware of that stupid plot of land until just now. Nick likes me for who I am, and I know that no matter what happens, he will always be there to support me."

"Judy, you don't even know if it's possible for you two to... well you know!"

Judy laughed, "Oh trust me, it's possible, and it has been incredible every time, hasn't it dear?"

Nick leaned in and kissed Judy, "Absolutely."

Judy was enjoying the slack-jawed expression of shock on her sister's face. If her siblings wanted to gossip like a bunch of old does, then she would damn well give them something to gossip about.

After several seconds Sam recovered, then blushed as she looked at Nick, "Judy, I've seen a video on how foxes… um... mate, I mean you don't actually..."

"I think the word you are looking for is tying or knotting. Of course, we tie. I will admit it was a bit of a surprise the first time since I wasn't sure what was happening until Nick explained it. But now I look forward to it. I mean, how can I complain about something that feels so wonderful and has the added benefit of requiring my partner to snuggle with me for half an hour to an hour after we finish?"

Judy glared at her sister, "So let me make this clear, I am in love with Nick, so you may as well tell the rest of the family they had better start getting used to the idea of Nick becoming my mate."

As Sam looked at how Nick was now hugging Judy with his muzzle resting lightly on her head, she was becoming more and more suspicious that the two mammals were already far more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. Luckily, the several kits that raced by into the bathroom saved her from what was becoming an increasing awkward period of silence. As Sam went to check on the kits, she saw that Nick and Judy were already walking away holding each other's paws.

Once they were out of sight, Sam pulled out her phone and turned it on. Now she had a couple of texts of her own she needed to send though she wasn't sure if any of her siblings were going to believe her.

* * *

Judy was leaning against Nick trying not to laugh too hard at the fox's situation and failing miserably. She couldn't help herself as she got up and carefully moved several feet away from the fox through the milling crowd of kits before turning and taking several photos of his predicament. She was finding it hard to keep from laughing long enough to hold her phone steady.

There wasn't a single kit in the playground since all of them were currently surrounding the two in the shade of one of the large oak trees that lined the playground. The curious kits were swarming Nick. Two of the smallest kits had at some time curled up in his lap and were currently napping. Meanwhile, other kits were busy investigating every part of the fox. Some were busy feeling his claws while others were busy poking and examining the pads on his paws and feet.

Other groups of kits were taking turns at feeling Nick's tail and ears. For some reason, Nick's ears held far more interest with the kits then his tail, and there had been a couple of minor scuffles over kits that were taking too long before allowing others access to them. Judy wasn't sure why. While she certainly liked Nick's ears, when they were alone together, she could never keep her paws off Nick's tail. When they had watched a movie the other night at the apartment, she couldn't stop her paws from stroking that sexy tail of his throughout the entire movie. Even now as she watched the kits touching it, she was tempted to take a turn herself.

Judy shifted a bit so she could take a couple of pictures of what the kits from the largest group were doing. This group was taking turns staring into Nick's open mouth, then reaching in and running a finger over Nick's sharp teeth, especially his long canines. Every once in awhile Nick would playfully snap his jaws as a kit removed their paw, which to her surprise, every time caused the kits to squeal with laughter.

The kits had been investigating Nick for a while now, and while Nick was being patient and understanding with all of the touching, Judy could see that it was finally starting to get to the fox. She saw the pleading look in Nick's eyes as he looked at her. She took one more picture then called out to the kits, "Okay, you have all had a chance to check out Nick, but it's time to give him a break. Besides, it looks like Mom has drinks and snacks ready under the pavilion."

Most of the kits groaned in disappointment, but soon they were all heading over to the pavilion.

Judy woke up the two kits in Nick's lap, then watched as they followed after the others. Judy reached down to help up the fox, but laughed when Nick instead used his weight to pull her down into his lap.

Judy smiled has she snuggled into Nick's lap. He had told her earlier today that he was pretty sure he would make a terrible father, but that wasn't how she saw it. Nick had been amazing with the kits. When they had first come out to the playground only a couple of the kits had been interested in meeting Nick, most had kept at a distance giving the tall scary stranger wary glances. But then Nick had started teaching the kits that were interested, the proper way to bare their teeth and growl, something he had explained to the kits was a very important skill. In less than ten minutes every kit in the playground had been involved.

Nick had taught the kits by example, baring his own teeth and growling at them. While the young rabbits had been taken back at first, soon every one of them was growling back at him every time he growled at them.

Judy still couldn't believe it. Having dozens of cute and cuddly balls of fluff trying to bare their teeth and growl was one of the cutest things she had ever seen. So of course, she found that she had no choice but to record a video of it. For nearly half an hour Nick had had every kit fully engaged as they all tried to outdo each other as he walked through the group with a grave expression on his face as he equally gave out compliments and pointers on what the little balls of fluff could do to look fiercer and sound more menacing.

She had to hand it to Nick, not only did every kit now know him, but not a single one showed even the slightest bit of unease around him even when he bared his teeth and growled.

As Judy just sat in her mate's lap breathing in his scent, she was starting to reconsider her initial plans on having kits. Part of the reason she had left home to join the ZPD was that she had been tired of raising her siblings and she had wanted a life of her own.

She wasn't sure if it was because of the increase in hormones running through her body ever since Nick had become her mate or something else, but her original plan of being a cop for at least three years before even considering having any kits was starting to feel more and more like a long time to wait. She was already starting to wonder if Nick would be comfortable if she moved that time up by a year. She looked up into Nick's eyes as she considered this, or maybe even two, she thought.

The ringing of her phone finally pulled Judy out of her musings.

* * *

Judy was sitting on her bed with her legs resting in Nick's lap as he removed the bandage from her leg. Nick saw that there was a little blood on the bandage from the holes left from the stitches that had been removed this morning. He bent over examining the wound carefully.

"Well?"

"It looks alright, but your fur is starting to grow back, so it's hard to see where the stitches were removed. But that shouldn't be a problem, let me talk to your mom. I'm sure she probably has a razor around here somewhere."

Judy tried to jerk her leg away from him, but he held on tightly to it. "Don't you dare. You're not coming anywhere near my leg with a razor. It was embarrassing enough having all of my family commenting on my leg this evening."

"Oh come on Judy, I love your sexy shaved leg. Maybe this time we can do both of them. It's quite a turn on."

"God, what did I ever do to deserve such a sick and twisted fox as you?"

Nick flashed Judy a toothy grin, "I guess you were just lucky."

Judy chuckled, "I suppose I was. Now are you going to put a bandage on it or are you just going to sit there and stare at my leg all night?"

"Wait, that was an option? Why aren't you telling me these things?"

Nick pulled out a fresh bandage and started to wrap her leg. "So what was the deal with your mother this evening?"

Judy answered evasively, "What do you mean?"

"Come on Carrots, she was stuck to us like glue, and she insisted on having me meeting and talking to every member of your family. What's the deal? You can't tell me she does that to every boyfriend you bring home."

"Well, apparently she does, since you are the only one I ever brought home that the family didn't already know."

Nick sighed, he was curious as to what had been going on, but it seemed that he wouldn't be getting any answers out of Judy tonight. The whole evening had been a blur of faces and names that he knew he would never be able to remember. On top of that, the simple fact he had been hungry throughout the whole evening hadn't helped any.

Nick's stomach had turned at just the sight of the raw vegetables that was all that had been put out for dinner. He had understood it, it was hot outside, and with close to 400 rabbits to feed, it hadn't made any sense to cook anything. But for the second time today, there wasn't a single thing available with any protein in it. While he had eaten some of what was available, his body knew what it needed, and it wasn't interested in anything else. He had given up trying to force down what had been available after only a couple of mouthfuls.

Throughout the entire evening, he had been planning on borrowing one of the trucks and going to town for some supplies after things finally wrapped up. But when the time had come, and he had asked Stu, he had been told that there was no point going since all of the stores closed at 9:00.

Nick still couldn't believe it. What the heck kind of town was BunnyBurrow where everything closed at 9:00? In Zootopia there were numerous restaurants and stores open 24/7. Well, at least they would be leaving tomorrow. He would just have to insist that they stop somewhere for a real meal before taking the train home.

As Nick finished with the bandage, he collected up the medical supplies, then leaned in and kissed Judy. "Get some rest, Carrots. I will see you in the morning."

* * *

Judy was lying in bed wide awake, staring at the bedroom wall. She had been lying here trying to fall asleep for over an hour without success. She kept telling herself the reason she couldn't sleep was due to the odd hours they had been keeping since she had returned to Zootopia, but her mind kept going back to the simple fact that Nick was just on the other side of that damn wall.

Judy groaned, I'm never going to get to sleep like this. She grabbed her phone and type in a quick text message. "You awake?"

She could hear the chime sound from Nick's phone through the wall. She quickly received the simple response back, "Yes."

In less than a minute she was at the door to Nick's room. She quickly opened it and entered, closing it behind her.

* * *

Like most nights Bonnie was having trouble sleeping. She looked at the dark outline of her husband with envy. Every night it was the same thing, as soon as her husband's head hit the pillow he was out like a light. The damn rabbit also had the annoying ability to be able to sleep through virtually anything. Sighing, she got up, deciding to do what she did most nights, to walk around the house a for a bit hoping to get tired enough to fall asleep.

As Bonnie was exiting her bedroom, she caught a glimpse of the tail end of a bunny darting into Nick's room and closing the door behind them. She immediately thought that it had better have been Judy or one of her other daughters was about to seriously regret their midnight excursion. She still suspected Nick and Judy were mates, and she didn't want to have to deal with what would happen if Judy caught one of her sisters in bed with Nick.

She walked up to the door. With the thin doors they had used when making the house, she knew from experience, that she had no need to press her ear to it to hear inside. She listened, getting ready to intervene if necessary.

* * *

The room was dark, and Judy could barely make out the outline of the bed in the shadows, she was walking cautiously towards the bed when she suddenly stepped on something.

"Ouch! Watch the tail!"

She jumped back. "Nick?"

"Yes. Why do you always have to step on the tail? What has it ever done to you?"

"I'm so sorry Nick, but what are you doing on the floor?"

"Well, I'm too big for the bed, so there weren't that many options."

Judy cursed herself. She should have checked in on Nick before going to bed. "I'm sorry, I never even thought about that. I should have gotten you several more blankets or pulled in some mattresses from the other guest rooms."

"It's okay, Judy. It certainly isn't the first time I have slept on a floor."

Nick watched admiring the view as Judy quickly peeled off her sports bra and panties. He reached out and guided her under the sheet with him.

"Judy, we are going to get caught."

"I don't care anymore. By now, I'm pretty sure that all of my siblings already know that we are sleeping together. We should be okay as long as they're not sure that we are already mates."

"Well, I'm not sure if we should."

"Why? You were the one that was insisting we should have just told my parents that we are mates."

"Judy, there's a big difference with you spending the night when your parents know we are sleeping together than having them discovering it on their own."

"Why?"

"Well, for one, I would prefer not being shot by your father."

"Nick, my Dad isn't going to shoot us."

"Of course he isn't going to shoot you. He loves you. Me on the other hand, I'm the vicious low-life predator that is taking advantage of his poor innocent daughter. He's definitely going to shoot me."

Judy chuckled, "Nick, my Dad is not going to shoot you." As her paw started to move through Nick's stomach and chest fur, she said in a sultry voice, "You know, now that we both have a clean bill of health we can see what it feels like without a condom."

"You are an evil temptress. You know that, don't you?"

Judy's paw slide down into his boxers and Nick gasped.

"So you're not really going to kick your mate out of your bed are you?" Nick glanced down to see that Judy had dropped her ears to the sides of her face. Her eyes were wide open, staring innocently into his, while her lower lip was trembling."

"God, will you stop doing that!"

Judy laughed, and her expression immediately returned to normal, "Why? It works doesn't it?"

"Fine, you can stay. But just remember, I like daisies."

Judy's paw stopped caressing him, "What?"

"When your Dad walks in on us, shoots me and buries my corpse in a shallow unmarked grave behind the barn. Just remember to plant some daisies on it."

Judy broke into laughter, then quickly tried to stifle it. "Okay, I will plant some daisies on your grave. Now lose the boxers, and I will show you why it's worth the risk of getting shot by my father.

* * *

Bonnie was trying hard not to laugh as she turned and started walking down the hallway. Behind her, she could already hear the faint moans of two mammals coming from behind the door.

She sighed as she thought, Judy, we are going to have a long talk tomorrow.

* * *

Judy woke and smiled, feeling Nick's arms holding her tightly. She looked up and stroked his muzzle. They had spent hours talking last night between multiple bouts of passionate lovemaking until she had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep. A deep sleep, thankfully free from any of the damn nightmares she had been plaguing her lately.

As she continued to rub his muzzle, she watched as his eyes opened. "Good morning, Nick."

Nick leaned down and kissed her. "'Morning, Carrots." He smiled before saying, "Okay, last night was definitely worth the risk of getting shot. So are you up for an encore performance?" Nick lifted the sheet and glanced down before turning to Judy with a smile on his face. "Because I certainly am."

Judy broke into a laugh as she sat up, and stretched. "Tempting, but we should probably get up."

Nick waggled his eyebrows at her, "I thought I just made it clear that I am up."

Judy laughed again, "Up, out of bed. What time is it?"

Nick reached over and picked up his phone, glancing at the screen, "10:15."

"Let's get cleaned up and get some lunch. Then we will find someone to drive us to the train station.

"Judy, while we are here, are you sure you don't want to tell your parents we are mates? I don't know what you are afraid of, but we can just deal with the consequences. They can't be that bad."

"That's easy for you to say. You don't have three hundred and ninety-six siblings your mother will use to lay an endless guilt trip on you if you don't do what she wants."

Nick laughed, "Is that what this is all about?"

Judy closed her eyes, "That's just part of it. Nick, my Dad may be in charge of the farm, but my Mom is in charge of the house and the kits. She's usually pretty easy going, but I get my stubborn streak from her. I'm still hoping we can keep her unsure as to whether we are mates. If she knows for sure that we are, then there are things she is going to insist on."

"Such as?"

"I would rather not say."

"Why not?"

Nick quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around Judy as she started to cry. "Because after learning about how fox relationships work, I'm afraid they will scare you off and you will leave me."

Nick rocked her in his arms, "I'm not going to leave you. We are grown mammals we don't have to do anything we don't want to."

Judy buried her face in his chest, "If we don't do what she wants I may not be welcome in this house until we do. If that happens, there is a good chance that none of my siblings will talk to me. I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose you or my family."

"She would do that?"

Judy nodded, "If she thought it was for my own good or the good of the family, she would. She's done it before."

Nick held Judy for several minutes until her tears finally stopped. He reached up and brushed away the last of the tears, then kissed her gently. "Fine, we won't tell your parents. Why don't you go and get cleaned up and then let me know when the bathroom is free."

Judy got up and got dressed. At the door, she stopped with her paw on the handle. In a quiet voice she said, "Nick, I want you to know that if I have to choose…"

As Nick looked at the rabbit's back, he already knew what was coming. It really wasn't surprising, he knew just how much Judy loved her family, and they had only known each other for a short period of time.

"That I will always choose you." Then she was out the door before he could even form a reply.


	19. Chapter 19

Judy was sitting on Nick's bed going through her email while waiting for him to finish getting cleaned up. Judy's eyes went wide when Nick walked into the room just wearing a towel. A towel that while reasonably sized for a rabbit, left very little to the imagination when wrapped around the fox. "Sweet cheese and crackers Nick, close the door before someone sees you."

"Too late. About a dozen of your siblings saw me on my way back for the bucks' showers. What's the problem? None of them seemed to mind."

Judy growled out, "Oh, I'm quite sure that none of my sisters minded seeing you in that towel. I'm just hoping none of them thought to take any pictures."

As Nick finished getting dressed, Judy checked her phone seeing it was already after eleven. "Come on Nick, let's get some lunch then we will get a ride to the train station. Oh, and don't tell my mother we will be leaving after lunch. Maybe we can get out of here before she pulls us aside for a private conversion.

"Judy, don't you think you are overdoing this whole thing with your mother?"

"Maybe, but I would rather have her yelling at me over the phone than in person."

* * *

As Nick looked at the tray of vegetables in front of him, his stomach churned. He pushed it away. Nick knew that if he tried to eat anything on it, it would be coming back up shortly after. He had had it. He was starving, and he wasn't going to be put off again. After lunch, he was going to get a real meal. He was going to insist that they stop somewhere to get something to eat before going to the train station.

With his stomach bothering him, Nick hadn't been paying much attention to the conversions going on around him, but then he heard it. He noticed that Judy's brother Rob was standing at the end of the table laughing when he heard him call Judy by that damn "Jude the Dude" nickname again. Nick could swear he had heard a bit of a condescending tone in the rabbit's voice when he had said it. Then Nick saw the small facial twitch and the little bit of sadness that suddenly came to Judy's eyes. Nick wasn't even aware of what he was doing. One moment he was sitting next to Judy the next he had Rob pinned to the wall, the rabbit's legs dangling helplessly below him. Nick's muzzle was inches from the rabbit's face and his teeth bared as he growled out, "If you ever call Judy that again, I swear to God, that I will make you regret it for the rest of your very short life!"

Then Nick was dropping the rabbit as pain exploded in his left ear and he was pulled downwards.

"We need to talk, Nick." He heard Judy growl out in an icy voice.

All Nick could get out was "EAR! EAR! EAR!" as the bunny dragged him by his left ear a dozen steps and into her parent's office. Once through the door, she slammed it behind them. The lightweight door hit the door frame hard, but the latch failed to catch, and the door rebounded back open. Judy dragged the fox to the nearest chair and shoved him into it releasing his ear.

Judy tried to keep her voice low, but it was hard with how angry she was, "What the hell was that, Nick!"

Nick was sitting in the chair, looking a little sheepish as he rubbed at his ear. "He shouldn't have called you that."

"And that makes it alright for you to assault my brother?"

"Fine, I may have overreacted a little bit."

"A little bit? Sweet cheese and crackers, what the hell were you thinking? We will be lucky if they don't call the police!"

Nick immediately growled back, "I don't care, let them. I would do it again. Dammit, Judy, the other night you were crying in my arms for almost half an hour when you explained how much that stupid nickname hurts you every time one of your family members says it. I am not going to just sit by and watch as someone hurt the bunny I love if there is anything I can do about it."

Judy's eyes widened at Nick's words and her anger melted away. Of all the times, why did he have to finally say it now? She rubbed her forehead, "God, Nick, what are we going to do? How are we going to fix this? Things were going so good. I think my parents actually liked like you or at least they weren't opposed to us being together." She leaned in and hugged the fox.

Nick considered for a little while before shrugging, "It's easy Judy, this situation is my fault and my responsibility. I will apologize to Rob, your parents, and your whole family. Then I will go upstairs, pack my things, and walk the several miles to the train station. You will stay here for a couple of days and make sure things are alright between you and your family. If that means you need to denounce me, then that's what you are going to do."

"Nick, I couldn't do that. I love you."

"I love you too." Nick paused a moment. "Judy, I have burned the bridges with the only family I have. There is no going back for me. I know how much your family means to you. I won't allow you to do the same thing. I can live with your family hating me. You can't."

Nick gently kissed her. "I think we have probably already been in here too long." He wiped a tear from her face, "Let's go face the music before you family finishes breaking out the torches and pitchforks." He smiled at her, "Besides, I either have a train to catch or an appointment at the police station, and I would prefer not being late for either one."

"Nick, I.."

Nick kissed her again. "It will be alright Carrots. I will be waiting for you when you get home."

Nick got out of the chair and took her paw. As Judy turned, she noticed for the first time that the door to the room was wide open. Through the doorway, at the closest row of tables, she could see dozens of her siblings watching them, including one of her sisters near the end of the table holding her phone pointed at them with a big grin on her face. Judy suddenly realized that the normal loud din of conversion that should be emanating from the dining room wasn't there. There wasn't a single sound coming from the dining room.

Judy buried her face in her paw, "Dammit, Nick, how long has that door been open?"

"I don't know, the whole time? What's it matter?"

"Nick we are in a house full of rabbits. I'm pretty sure my entire family heard everything we just said."

Nick tried not to laugh when he heard the distant voice shout out. "Well, I didn't hear it all. Can you say the middle part again?"

Then he did break a chuckle as the bunny that was holding the phone responded harshly, "Shush, George I recorded the whole thing. You can watch it later, now stop ruining the mood!"

Nick sobered quickly as he reentered the dining room. He saw Rob standing just outside the doorway with a distant expression on his face. Nick walked the several steps to the rabbit. "Rob, I want to apologize for…"

Nick was surprised when the buck merely squeezed his arm as he walked past him. "Nick, you don't need to apologize for anything. I'm the one that needs to be apologizing."

Nick watched as Rob hugged Judy. Suddenly the din of conversion returned to the dining room. Nick couldn't hear what the two rabbits were saying to each other though he could guess. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a paw touch his arm. He looked down to see Bonnie. She pulled him down and hugged him, then whispered in his ear, "When I first realized that Judy had fallen for you I wasn't sure why. But now I know. She made the right choice when she took you as her mate."

Nick stiffened a bit at the last part of what she had said. She pulled back and chuckled at the fox, "Did you really think I didn't know?" She patted the fox's arm, "Don't worry Nick, I will talk to her after lunch, and we will straighten everything out."

Nick watched as Bonnie walked over and joined Judy and Rob. He didn't know if Bonnie knowing that they were mates was a good thing or a bad thing. His thoughts were interrupted as Stu grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Nick had been ready for it this time and tried to relax. Then he heard it, Really? Well, I guess I know where Judy gets it from. Nick tried not to cringe as he awkwardly patted the large rabbit's back as Stu sobbed into his chest.

* * *

After Nick was finally able to extract himself from Stu's embrace, he returned to where he had been sitting at the table. He glanced back to where Judy stood surrounded by a large group of her family members, knowing it was going to be a while until things returned to any semblance of normalcy. He turned and slipped out of the dining room, making his way into the living room. On entering the living room, Nick saw there was a group of kits huddled on a couch to one side of the room watching a movie. He walked past the dozen of empty couches to the one farthest away from the kits and sat down on it. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hoping that Judy would be finished with lunch soon so that he could finally get something to eat.

…

"Nick?"

Nick woke with a start, his eyes snapping open. He looked around in confusion for several seconds before remembering where he was. He looked down in surprise at the kits napping on his lap. Then his eyes fell on the other dozen kits piled up and sleeping on the couch beside him, before finally focusing his attention on Judy. As he did so, he could see the concern in her eyes.

Judy was frowning at Nick. When she had just woken him, it had taken him a long time to focus on her. When she had gone back and finished her lunch, she had noticed his tray hadn't been touched. As she looked into his eyes, she saw that they were flat and didn't have the normal gleam to them that she was used to. His coat, which she hadn't put any conditioner in this morning, was dull and brittle looking.

She reached out and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. She felt the heat radiating from it, but suddenly realized she had no idea how to tell if the fox had a fever or not. "Nick, are you sick?"

"No. I'm just a little hungry. Can we go into town and get something to eat?"

Judy was puzzled for a moment since they had just finished lunch when it hit her. She remembered that he had been saying yesterday that he needed to get some protein. She groaned, she had promised him they would go to town, but then like always things had happened, and she had forgotten about it. The simple fact that Nick could get away with eating the same foods as her and didn't complain when he did keep making her forget about his needs.

When she had been researching foxes yesterday, she had read that for a fox to remain healthy, at least seventy percent of their daily diet needed to be protein. Judy cringed inwardly, as she tried to remember the last time she had seen him eat anything high in protein. The last time she could remember was the night that Nick cooked her dinner, but that couldn't be right since that was almost five days ago. "Nick, when was the last time you had anything with protein in it?

Nick shrugged, "I'm not sure, but it's been a while."

Judy berated herself under her breath as she helped Nick extract himself from the couch full of sleeping kits. God, I am the worst mate in the world, Nick has been starving himself sick I didn't even notice it.

Once Nick was free from the couch Judy pulled him towards the nearest doorway. "Damn it, Nick, you should have reminded me last night. Come on, let's get you something to eat."

Judy dragged Nick through the dining room and then into the kitchen. She pulled out a stool at one of the metal preparation tables. "Sit down, Nick." Once Nick sat down Judy started searching through several of the large industrial refrigerators until she located what she was looking for. She pulled the large tub out of the fridge and then grabbed another tub off of one of the wire storage racks. She struggled a little as she carried them to the prep table behind Nick and got to work.

Nick had pulled out his phone and was looking through a Newsfeed as he tried not to pay attention to what Judy was doing. He had heard her rummaging in the refrigerators and the sound of her pulling the lid off the top of a tub. Nick shuddered just knowing that the container probably contained tofu. He sighed, already knowing he was going to eat as much of the dreadful stuff as his body could handle and be thankful for it. Then he heard her open another tub and caught a familiar smell. He nearly dropped his phone and quickly drew in more of the odor. His mouth was already watering in anticipation. Oh, God, yes. As his tail involuntarily began to wag.

Judy glanced back at the thumping sound and smiled as she saw Nick's tail repeatedly striking against the base of the stool. She cut the sandwich in half and dropped it on a plate. Judy walked the several steps over to him and slipped the plate in front of him. She smiled as the fox snatched up half of the sandwich and started to wolf it down. Judy went back to the table and quickly made another. The first sandwich was already gone when she returned, dropping the second one onto his plate. Nick quickly reached for the sandwich.

Judy rested her paw on his arm. "Slow down Nick. Take your time eating this one. They won't do you any good if you can't keep them down." She watched for a moment, making sure his pace had slowed and tried not to laugh at the way his mouth moved as he chewed on the sandwich.

She quickly made another and brought it back, and she set it on his plate. As she did Nick leaned up and kissed her lightly. She returned the kiss briefly tasting a little bit of the peanut butter and jelly on his lips.

"Thanks, Carrots."

"Don't thank me, Nick. I should have never let this happen in the first place. I'm not going to make this mistake again. Will this get you through to dinner time or do you want to go into town now and get something more to eat?"

"I think I'm good for now."

"Okay, a train stops at the BunnyBurrow station every two hours and then goes on to Zootopia. I was initially planning on sneaking out and catching the next train and hopefully avoiding mother, but if you're not feeling well then maybe we should stay at least until tonight. You can take a nap this afternoon and then we can go out and get you a real meal before heading back."

Nick didn't hesitate, "I vote for the sneaking away now plan. I'm already feeling a lot better with a full stomach, and I can always take a nap on the train. Judy, I'm a city fox, and I will feel a lot more comfortable when we get home. Besides, I'm not sure how, but your mother knows we are mates. She told me so after that little incident at lunch."

"Okay, lets…"

As Judy stopped speaking Nick looked up and could see Bonnie had entered the dining room and was heading straight towards them.

Judy sighed as she looked at Nick, "Well, we almost got away."

* * *

As Bonnie entered the kitchen, she looked in puzzlement at the fox who was slowly eating a sandwich.

Judy caught her mother's questioning look, "Nick, has some different dietary requirements that he just reminded me of." She kissed the side of his muzzle and placed another sandwich on his plate. "Nick, why don't you go and finish that in the living room. I will come get you once I have talked with my mother."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

"It's okay, Nick. I will be all right."

Once Nick had left Bonnie was quick to ask, "Judy, what is going on? I know perfectly well that you and Nick are mates. Why have you been trying to hide it from us? Were you afraid we wouldn't accept a fox into the family?"

Judy sighed, "No, not really, while I wanted you to like Nick, it didn't matter if you accepted him or not. He's my mate, and I wouldn't have left him even if you and Dad had hated him."

Judy paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, "I was trying to hide it because of the differences between fox and rabbit relationships. The issue is that fox relationships are nothing like ours. Their relationships are long drawn out affairs. I love Nick, and I'm not going to force him into anything."

Bonnie looked confused, "Force him into what? You two love each other, and he has already accepted you has his mate. The only thing left is the ceremony, and we can do that as soon as we finish here, then you can go into town and get your certificate."

"That's what I'm talking about, mother. There isn't going to be any ceremony for a long time."

"What? Of course, there is going to be one. It is already late. It should have been performed the day after you became mates."

"It doesn't work that way with foxes, he's not ready to marry me yet, and I'm willing to wait until he is. I'm not even going to tell him about it until I'm sure he's ready. I don't want to risk scaring him away."

Judy saw the scowl form on her mother's face as her foot started tapping on the floor. "Judy the chances are good that you are already pregnant. If you aren't yet, then you will be soon. I'm sure that you have noticed that since taking Nick as your mate that your hormones are in overdrive and they will remain that way for several weeks to help ensure it."

"Mom, I was at the doctor's yesterday. I'm not pregnant, and I'm not planning on getting pregnant. I'm on birth control, and I will stay on it until after Nick and I are married, and we decide the time is right to have kits."

"And just when are you planning on getting married?"

"I already told you when Nick is ready, but probably not for at least a year." Judy closed her eyes for a moment, screwing up her courage before saying, "Mom, before you threaten to cut me off from the family if we don't get married now. I just want you to know that if you make me choose, you aren't going to like my answer. Nick is my mate. If I can't see or talk to my family for a year or two then so be it. Nick and I will pack and leave right now."

Judy could see the anger in her mother's face, which seemed so odd since her mother never got angry. Judy could hardly remember a time when her mother even looked mildly annoyed.

"Fine. No ceremony, but you two are going into town today and registering as mates. It's too important for you not to do it, especially if you're both going to be working high-risk jobs. You need to do it to protect yourself and your kits if you do become pregnant. Besides, it will also protect Nick's rights if something were to happen to you."

"No mother. Registering is essentially the same thing, I will not risk scaring Nick off by asking him now. I will consider asking Nick in a few months, maybe after he graduates from the Academy. Besides registering shouldn't matter much since we won't be seeing much of each other until after he graduates."

Judy was surprised by her mother's response, "Okay. I will let it go for the moment since we have a more urgent problem to deal with, but this conversation is far from over."

Judy looked suspiciously at her mother, "What problem?"

"Before coming to see you, I caught two of your sisters that were about to come to blows as to which one them was going to be first to offer Nick a personal tour of the farm. I have little doubt that they both planned on that their tours starting and ending in their bedrooms."

"What!"

"What do you expect Judy? Nick is handsome, and at lunch, he exhibited every trait a doe wants to see in a potential mate in spades. Add to it, he's not marked, and a large number of your unmated sisters are now either considering him as a potential mate or have already set their sights on him. They all heard you both saying that you love each other, so they see their only chance with him is by of getting him into their bed and persuading him otherwise before you two decide to mark.

Bonnie smiled at Judy, "Heck if I were twenty-five years younger and hadn't met your father, I would probably be making a play for him too. So before things get out of paw, it is high time that you let your sisters know just whose mate Nick is."

Bonnie watched as Judy bounded out of the kitchen on her way to the family room. She followed after her daughter at a more sedate pace, already going over in her head what she was going to say to Nick this afternoon to convince the fox to go and register with Judy.

* * *

As Judy entered the living room, she found that Nick was easy to spot amongst all of the rabbits. Judy's eyes narrowed as she looked at where the fox was sitting on one side of a couch. She could see the discomfort and just a bit of pleading in his eyes. Judy's gaze shifted to her sister Jessie who sitting next to Nick leaning heavily against the fox while whispering something to the fox. Then she noticed that her sister's paw was slow moving up and down Nick's thigh.

"Nick, come here!"

Judy saw the relieved look on the fox's face as he quickly got up off of the couch.

Judy led the fox over to a folding chair. "Sit down, please." Once Nick was seated, she pulled his head towards her and slowly started rubbing her chin across the top of his head.

She smiled as she heard him say, "Oh God, yes, it's about time." She only rubbed her chin across his head several times before sitting on his lap facing him.

"Nick, just mark the top of my head, for now, we will get the rest shortly."

Nick rubbed each of his cheeks several times across the top of her head. Then he captured her mouth with his. He had no idea how long the kiss had lasted for, but he gasped for breath when they separated. He tried to breathe in the scent of his mark but failed due to the overpowering smell of arousal and pheromones coming off of Judy.

Judy then said the only three words Nick wanted to hear, "Your room now."

They got out of the chair, and Nick scooped Judy up his arms and headed towards the stairs leading back to his room, ignoring all of the knowing looks being cast his way from all of the older rabbits in the room.


	20. Chapter 20

Bonnie stood outside Nick's guest room at the Hopp's family farm holding a tray full of food and drinks. She could hear Nick and Judy talking through the thin door. She smiled as she heard in Judy's voice, just how happy her daughter was. It was good to hear it again. She had missed it. With all of the responsibilities she and her husband had placed on Judy, she couldn't remember the last time her daughter had sounded like that. While Judy always looked and acted upbeat, Bonnie knew that it was often just an act she put on for the family, and it hurt her knowing that it was her and Stu's fault.

Bonnie had intentionally given the couple several hours of privacy so that there would be no question in the minds of her other kits as to Nick's and Judy's status as mates. But regardless of Judy's concerns about how Nick might react to it, it was time to have a discussion with the two mammals about their future together. She smiled as she knocked on the door. Bonnie knew her daughter well enough to suspect that Judy was probably already planning on sneaking back to Zootopia to avoid having another conversation with her, but Bonnie had no intention of allowing either mammal to leave before she had her say, and knowing that Nick and Judy were currently in a compromising position would help ensure that.

Bonnie heard Judy's voice call out, "Yes?"

"Judy, Nick, cover up whatever you don't want me to see. You have 10 seconds."

"Mom, do not come in here! We are… We will come downstairs in a little while."

"You have seven seconds, dear. You better hurry."

She heard her daughter cursing followed by the sound of movement and the rustling of a sheet. Then she heard Nick asking, "Why don't you just lock to door?"

Followed by Judy's clipped response, "Because it doesn't have a lock. Most of the rooms don't. We have had far too many little kits accidentally locking themselves inside a room."

Bonnie waited until all of the sounds behind the door had quieted for half a dozen seconds before opening the door and entering. Once inside she closed the door behind her. She was surprised as she saw that Nick and Judy were on the floor. They had made a bed out of several blankets, and they had a sheet covering them. Well, at least most of them, while Judy was fully covered, most of Nick's torso and legs were exposed. Nick's arms wrapped possessively around her daughter.

Bonnie set down the tray of food and drinks on the floor in front of the two mammals, "Relax you two, I have seen it all before." She chuckled as she glanced at the fox, "well, most of it anyways." She took a seat in the folding chair as she gazed down at the couple, "We need to have a talk about your future together."

While Nick could tell that Judy was angry about the intrusion, he was just curious if he was finally going to learn why Judy was so worried about what Bonnie might demand of them.

Judy was the first to reply, "Mom we already discussed this."

"No, you and I discussed it, but Nick wasn't involved. Besides, I don't agree with you, so it's time to get Nick's opinion on the matter."

Bonnie looked at the fox. She tried to keep her eyes on his face, which was surprisingly hard to do with all of the fur he had exposed, "Nick, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things, but first let's start with when you two are going to be getting married."

Bonnie maintained a neutral face as she watched the reactions on both Nick's and Judy's faces. Judy's face first showed surprise, but was immediately followed by fear. As Bonnie looked at her, she could see her daughter's lips moving in what could easily be seen as "Please, no." She then brought her focus back to Nick. While she had missed his initial reaction, she could see the look of pure panic in the fox's eyes, though to his credit he hadn't budged from holding her daughter.

Bonnie cursed inwardly, she had been hoping that Judy had been wrong and that Nick would just go along with having the ceremony today since it would simplify things, but she could now see that her daughter had been right. It was hard for her to understand since no rabbit would ever mark another without expecting to be married immediately after. But apparently, it really was different for foxes. She didn't like it, but she wasn't about to risk messing things up for her daughter, "I understand that you two won't be getting married for a year or two and that's okay."

Bonnie paused briefly seeing that while Nick seemed to have relaxed a bit, there was still an edge of panic in his eyes. She also noticed that Judy hadn't relaxed at all and could see the fear plainly written on her face. Bonnie now knew that she had chosen correctly in coming here now, she was pretty sure if she hadn't caught them like this, wherever she would have confronted them, they would have probably just gotten up and left avoiding this conversation. Bonnie took a moment, gathering her thoughts before starting, "The reason I'm here is that I want to talk to you two about going into town this afternoon and registering as mates."

There was dead silence in the room for a while, before Nick finally asked in a confused voice, "Okay, what's that?"

Bonnie was more than a little surprised by his response. "Foxes don't register as mates?"

Nick shrugged, "I'm not sure what that is. Once foxes are sure that a relationship is going to last, we just get married."

"Well, rabbits also do that. But for us, it's not as important as registering as mates."

Judy interrupted while glaring at her mother, "It's okay, Nick, I have already had this discussion with mother, and we don't need to register."

"Yes, you do. It's important. Nick, rabbits, register to guarantee the rights and protection of any kits they produce."

Judy quickly shot back, "Nick, it goes a lot further than just taking the welfare of possible kits into account. What mother isn't saying is that if we register we would legally be mates. That means we would automatically be each other's next of kin for everything. We would have full access to each other's medical and financial records. In an emergency, we could make legal decisions for each other."

Judy sighed, she hadn't wanted to get into this conversion with Nick until she was sure he was ready. "Nick, registering has been around for a long time. The whole reason it came about was to ensure that fathers would provide support for any kits they have produced if a relationship failed. Since birth control was often frowned upon by rabbits, and due to our nature, a female would often become pregnant within weeks of taking a mate. Add to that that an average litter for a rabbit is five kits and things could quickly become a major issue for the doe and kits if the father didn't stick around. Registering was meant to be a way to prevent males from hopping into multiple relationships, producing kits and then not taking responsibility for them."

Judy squeezed Nick's paw, "Nick, I don't need a document for any of that. I know you, and I have read enough about how territorial and possessive foxes are towards their kits to know that you would never abandon any of them even if our relationship were to fail. I'm perfectly willing to wait until we are married."

Bonnie frowned at Judy, before looking back at the fox, "Nick, there's more to registering then just that. Registering as mates would also protect your rights. What would happen if something happened to Judy while bearing a litter of kits and for whatever reason, you still weren't married?"

Nick shrugged, "The law is very specific in that case. I would get custody of the kits."

"Nick, you are a predator and Judy is prey, you don't think there might be the possibility that some group may try to fight your custody rights to any rabbit kits you may have?"

Nick shrugged, "I doubt it. Like I said, the law is clear. Besides, while our kits may look like rabbits and foxes, they would be hybrids. No one could claim that the ones that look rabbits are prey since they would also have fox DNA."

Bonnie frowned, and her foot started tapping the ground thinking quickly, what the heck? Is Nick a damn lawyer or something?

Her leg stopped moving as she changed tactics, "Okay. But you are both going to be working high-risk jobs. What if something happens to you today or tomorrow and Judy's already pregnant?"

Judy didn't know why, but she had felt Nick's hold tighten around her suddenly at the suggestion. Without thinking, she automatically tried to reassure her mate, "Mother, the chances of that happening are slim, and if it were to happen, then I will deal with it."

Nick's mind was racing, what if that did happen? After all, it had happened to his mother and him.

His mother had never liked talking about his father, always insisting it was too painful thinking about him. But Nick had been able to piece together what had happened to him. He knew that both of his parents had been educated before coming to Zootopia. His mother had had a business degree, though he had never been able to find out what degree his father had held. His parents had come to Zootopia straight from college, hoping to find work since at the time there had been a major recession occurring in the fox provinces.

Unfortunately, they hadn't taken into account the lack of skilled jobs available for foxes within the city. The only work they could find was as manual laborers. His mom had been forced to work as part of a cleaning crew at an office building, and his father had only been able to find a job driving a garbage truck for the city. Both jobs had been meant to be temporary until they could find better ones, but then his father had been killed in an accident while on the job. Several weeks after his father's death, his mother had discovered that she was pregnant. Since they hadn't been married, his mother hadn't qualified for any of his father's death benefits and his father had left no will.

When his mother had notified the city about Nick, they had refused to recognize him as his father's next of kin. While his mother had sought out legal advice, she had discovered that the legal fees involved would have negated any of the benefits they would have received.

Between her college loans, and the medical bills incurred from his birth, Nick's mother had quickly gone into serious debt and had no choice but to move into the poorest part Zootopia. As he thought of it, Nick wondered briefly if his mother had ever paid off those loans. He had been indirectly providing her with money through Finnick ever since he was twelve, so she would have had plenty to do so, but he suspected he would probably never know. Nick felt a stab of guilt in not knowing since he had no doubt that Finnick would. The fox tried to dismiss it since he knew he would never be able to bring himself to ask Finnick about it, and he had no intentions of calling or talking to his mother.

Nick mentally shook himself refocusing on the issue at hand. The problem was he couldn't discount the possibility of what Bonnie had suggested from happening to them. After all, just how many times had he or Judy almost died in the past several months? Heck, Judy would have been killed the other night if he had been just several seconds slower in reaching her. It was all too easy to envision himself being killed, while trying to protect Judy or from one of Bellwether's associates seeking vengeance.

And what would happen if it did happen? Judy had said she would take care of it. But she wasn't making much money with the ZPD, and it would be a struggle for her to raise a kit on her own. Her only other option would be to move back here, and he had seen how the kits lived here and he disliked that option even more.

He briefly considered changing his will to include Judy and any possible kits, but the issue with that would be that, while he doubted it would happen, there was always the possibility that someone might contest it and tie up those resources in court for years. Even if no one did, then Zootopia and the province would each take a large chunk of whatever he left them in the form of taxes.

While he wasn't comfortable with it, what Bonnie was suggesting made sense. Nick fought down his natural instincts that were screaming at him that it was wrong, that it was far too soon, to be considering something like this. "So, if we register we wouldn't be married?"

Bonnie was quick to reply, "Of course not. Like I said earlier, you can get married whenever you two are ready."

"Nick…" Judy paused, she needed to tell him the truth. She needed to explain to him that while technically they wouldn't be married, that for all intents and purposes, they would be. He should know that most rabbits didn't care about marriages. Rabbits had only started having them around fifty years ago because all the other species had them and they didn't want to be left out. She needed to tell him that in the eyes of every rabbit, they would be considered to be married the moment they registered.

But the truth was she wanted this more than she had ever wanted to be a police officer. Over last week, she had realized that she now had a new dream and it was a life with Nick always by her side. She considered briefly, does it actually matter if he doesn't know? I mean based on the conversation they had just had, he must at least suspect it. Besides, we love each other, and we will be getting married the moment Nick is ready anyways. She closed her eyes briefly as she thought, Nick, please forgive me, but I can't tell you, I want this too much.

Finally, she continued in a quiet voice, "Nick, we don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm willing to wait until we are married."

Nick considered for a minute again running through everything in his head. He was already second-guessing his decision. There were a lot of things about his past that Judy still didn't know. Things he knew she wouldn't like when she found out about them, and then there were his finances. He couldn't predict how Judy was going to react when she found out about those. Since they would be looking for a new place to live as soon as they got back to Zootopia. He was pretty sure she would be learning about them sooner than later, and when she did, he knew she was going to be demanding a detailed explanation about them. Nick wondered if he could get away with a page out of Judy's playbook and somehow hold off telling her until he was in the Academy. It would probably be far easier and safer explaining them over the phone than in person.

Nick sighed, realizing his instincts were just driving him to come up with excuses to try and back out of the decision he had already made, "No, I think your mother is right, and we should do it."

Judy was glad she wasn't facing Nick. If she had been, she wouldn't have been able to meet his eyes. Judy could see the smug look of satisfaction on her mother's face. As she watched, her mother got up and headed towards the door, "Okay, you two, you will have plenty of time to spend with each other after you register. I have already reserved one of the trucks for you, so get cleaned up, and then you can drive into town. I think I will have all of the family come back again for dinner tonight and we can make the announcement."

Judy shook her head, "No mother. Nick and I are going out for dinner afterward. Nick hasn't had a proper meal in days, so he's getting one tonight."

She saw her mother considering it a moment before answering, "Okay, but I want both of you back here after dinner. Since you two are now mates, I want the family to have as much time as possible getting to know Nick. I know you two were going to head back home today, but you may as well spend another night here. You can head back tomorrow if you want to, but you're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

* * *

Nick and Judy were standing in front a small table at the BunnyBorrow courthouse working their way through the registration forms. As Nick skimmed through the legalese of the forms, he saw that for the most part, what Bonnie had said about it was correct. There were large sections devoted to assuring that both mates would be equally responsible for any kits they may have. After having read through everything, he didn't know from a legal perspective, if there was much of a difference between being married and being registered as mates. If anything, registering actually seem to be far more involved.

One thing he hadn't expected was just how much information they needed to provide in the forms. There were numerous sections that had to be filled out and dozens of places that they both needed to sign. It had taken them well over an hour to complete all of the forms.

As Nick finished the last section, he went back to the one section he had skipped earlier, since he hadn't been sure what to enter. "Judy, any idea who I should I put down as my current employer? Chief Bogo and the Mayor were never really clear on who is currently paying me, other than the city, and they never had me fill out any paperwork or forms for the job."

Judy considered a moment before answering, "Just copy down what I put down for Precinct One. Chief Bogo said the other night that as far as he was concerned, you are working for him. So if any of this reaches him, he should know where to direct it. Besides, you will need to fill out a bunch of forms when you start at the Academy anyways. They should know what changes you will need to make."

"Okay, Thanks."

A few minutes later they were standing in line. The line was moving slowly, and there were a half a dozen couples in front of them. Nick handed his paperwork to Judy, "I will be right back. I'm going to find the little foxes room."

Judy smiled at him, "Okay. But you had better be coming back. I have some experience at tracking down missing mammals, and I will not hesitate in hunting you down if necessary."

Nick flashed her a grin, "I know you would. Don't worry I'm not going anywhere."

"Nick, we don't have to do this if you don't want to. Registering is a significant step for us. I am willing to wait."

"But, you don't want to wait, do you?" While Judy didn't answer, she didn't need to. He could see it in her eyes. He gave her a brief kiss before turning and heading towards where he thought the restrooms were located. "I will be right back, Carrots."

* * *

Judy stepped up to the counter and handed the clerk the forms. The doe barely looked up at her. Judy could see that she was a few years younger than her and had "Zoey" printed on her name tag. Judy smiled at the doe, "Hi, I'm Judy and my mate Nick will be here in just a second." Judy glanced back at the entrance door, where was that fox? She didn't want to have to go back through the line again. She sighed as she saw Nick coming through the door. She waved for him to hurry then turned back to the clerk.

After a few seconds, Zoey looked up at her. "It looks like your mate made an error on his form. He used the species code for a fox instead of a rabbit."

"Oh no, that's correct. Here he is now."

Nick quickly took his place beside Judy and wrapped an arm around her. He flashed the clerk a smile, "I'm sorry, I'm late. Did I miss anything?"

His smile slowly melted into a frown as he saw the look of disgust that came over the rabbit's face as she pushed the forms back across the counter.

"No."

Judy glanced down at the forms and then back to the clerk, "No. What? Did we miss filling something out."

"No. As in, no you can't register."

Judy was already raising her voice, "Why not. It's perfectly legal for us to register. In fact, it is illegal for you to refuse to register us. So do your damn job and register us."

"No now leave, or I will call the police."

Nick watched as Judy pulled out her badge and slapped it on top of the forms as she yelled at the doe. "I am the police. Now register us, Zoey."

As all of this was happening a jaguar arrived, and he quickly demanded, "Okay, what is going on here?"

Zoey was quick to answer, "These mammals refuse to leave."

Judy glared at Zoey for a moment before answering in a calm voice, "I'm sorry, but Zoey here refuses to register my mate and I."

The jaguar looked at Nick, Judy, and the forms on the counter. He took note of the police badge lying on top of the forms, before turning back to the clerk, "So why didn't you register them, Zoey?"

"What they want to do is against nature and God. I will have no part of it."

The jaguar closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead as he answered, "Zoey, it's not your call to make. I don't care what you may think when you are home, but it has no place here. Now, register them."

"No."

"Zoey, let me make it clear. It is illegal for you to refuse to register them. "

"I'm not going to do it."

"Fine, Zoey, you're fired. Collect your things and leave."

"You can't do that. You know who my father is."

"Of course I do, it was the only reason you got this job in the first place. But he's not going to save you from being fired for doing something illegal. We will be lucky if these mammals don't sue the town. Now leave, or I will call the police and having you arrested."

They all watched as the bunny grabbed her purse, then stormed out of the office.

"I'm sorry about that, but some mammals just can't accept new things."

Nick and Judy watched as the jaguar went through the forms and entered the data into the computer. Eventually, he slid a sealed document across the counter. "That is your copy of your registration. I will be sending a copy of it to both of your employers. Make sure to check with them. Now that you are legally mates, you will be able to get discounts by combining your health insurance, and there are other benefits that you may qualify for."

He looked up and smiled at them, "Congratulations. I hope you have a wonderful life together. "


	21. Chapter 21

As Nick and Judy exited the town hall after just having registered as mates, Nick was trying to determine roughly where he and Judy were within a fox relationship, other than uncharted territory. At this point, he didn't have a clue. The only thing he was sure of, was that now that they were registered, Judy would probably be insisting on him always referring to her as his mate. That would certainly raise quite a few eyebrows around members of other species, and especially foxes. Well, that was easy enough to fix, wasn't it? He grinned a little thinking of what Finnick's face would look like when he found out.

Judy interrupted Nick's musings, "Nick, would you mind if we separate for a little while, and then meet somewhere for dinner? There are a couple of things I want to purchase, and I'm sure it would be boring for you to be just standing around waiting for me."

Nick smiled, he had been just about to suggest the same thing, "That's fine. I need to pick up a couple of items too." Nick tossed Judy the keys to the truck. "You take it. I will either walk to where I need to go or take a cab, assuming this town has taxis."

"Yes, we have taxis. There is a taxi stand right over there. But you take the truck, Nick. I only need to go a couple of blocks from here."

"No. You may not be limping anymore, but you are still on light duty for the next week. If you push it, either you will be limping again or worse, you will reopen that wound. Besides, I can use the exercise."

"Says the fox that was sick enough earlier today, that I had problems waking him up."

Nick smiled at her, "Details, details, now take the truck. When I say I will take a cab, I actually will, unlike you. Besides, I'm feeling much better after getting some proper food in me. So where do you want to meet and when?"

* * *

"But sir, I don't want you wasting your money. I don't know what couple you are purchasing it for, but I assure you that there are other things you could buy for them that would make much more sense. If they are getting married, then I'm sure they would prefer cash or another gift that will allow them to start their family sooner."

Nick was getting frustrated. He had been arguing not only with this damn hare, but the several rabbit customers in the shop. It was ridiculous, whoever heard of a store where everyone tried to talk someone out of purchasing something he was pretty sure they had in stock?

"Okay, I get that rabbits don't buy them. But the question is, do you have any that would fit a doe?

"Well, yes, but they would be expensive, and it would take a couple of days to get it resized."

"Fine. Just let me see what you have, and let me worry about the cost. Speaking of which, how much more would it cost to get one resized in the next hour? I'm in a bit of a time crunch here, and I need it today."

* * *

Judy cringed as she pushed open the door to the store. She hoped no one she knew would see her entering or leaving it. It was her last stop, and it had taken her awhile to get up the nerve to come here. In a perfect world, she would have just ordered it discreetly online, but since she and Nick had just registered as mates, she wanted it for tonight.

As Judy entered, she made a straight line to the doe sitting behind the counter. She tried to ignore looking at all of the items on display and blushed as most of the store's patrons looked up at her from the things they were examining. As she walked past the other customers, she noticed that several of the bucks smirked at her. God, Nick, you had better appreciate this, I think this is worse than when we were at the Mystic Spring Oasis.

The doe behind the counter grinned at Judy as she approached, "First time in this type of store?"

"Um... Yes." Judy held her phone out to the bunny, "Do you sell this?"

The attendant glanced at the image on the screen and raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry honey, but that only works on foxes. It won't do anything for a buck."

"I know. Do you have any?"

"I do, but I only sell it to vixens. I can guess what you want it for, and I'm not going to sell it to someone just to get some petty revenge on a tod by embarrassing him in public. I don't need to have an angry tod in here threatening to sue me. Besides, we get hassled enough from the community as it is."

Judy couldn't help blushing even more, "You don't understand. It's actually for my mate, Nick. He is a fox, and we just registered today. Since it's our mating night, I want to do something special for him."

Judy could see the skepticism in the bunny's look. Then she saw the doe's eyes go wide, and Judy realized that the doe had probably just caught the scent of Nick's mark on her, a mark entirely different from that of a buck.

"I don't know… I have never heard of a bunny marrying any predator before, let alone a fox." The doe's nose twitched several times. "Well… I'm not sure if your mate is a fox, but you are wearing a predator's mark. I guess I can sell it to you, but I can't guarantee it will work since you're a rabbit. But if it does, you and your husband should be in for an enjoyable night."

The doe went over to a wall display and quickly returned, placing a box on the counter. "Is that all you need? I have some fox shaped marital aids you might be interested in for when you have exhausted your mate or for when he's not available."

"No. This is all for now." Judy's ears were burning, "Besides, my husband has had no problems keeping up with me in the bedroom."

The assistant grinned, "Really?" then chuckled, "Well, I was always a little suspicious about those rumors that only a buck could keep up with, and satisfy a doe. I suspect those rumors were probably all started by a bunch of bucks trying to keep all of the eligible does from straying outside of the species."

As the bunny handed the bag to Judy, she glanced around making sure no one was near before leaning across the counter and asked in a quiet voice. "So, tell me. Just between us, what's it like mating with a fox? Are any of those rumors about predators in bed true?"

* * *

Bonnie and Stu were in the front of the dining room. Both were standing on chairs so that they could see out over their large family.

Stu spoke up in a loud voice, "Okay, everyone settle down. We have an announcement to make."

Bonnie waited briefly until the room quieted before saying, "I know it is inconvenient for some of you being here for the second day in a row and I'm sorry about that, but this is important. As I'm sure you are all aware by now, Judy has taken Nick as her mate. But what you probably aren't aware of is that this afternoon Nick and Judy registered as mates. So as of today, Nick is now a member of this family, and I expect all of you to treat him as such."

She looked around as her kits whispered amongst each other. While she could see several unhappy faces in the crowd, but the majority of the older kits seemed to be accepting of the newest family member. The younger kits all seemed very excited by the news. She had seen Nick playing with them the previous day, and she was sure their excitement was at the prospect of having someone new with which to play. During the summer, it was hard to arrange things for the young kits to do away from the farm, so anything new for them was always welcome and exciting.

"Since Judy and Nick are now mates, the land we put aside for her now belongs to her and Nick. Judy has already sacrificed a lot for this family, and she has more than earned it."

Bonnie could see the anger in several of her kits eyes at the announcement. She knew that those kits had been holding out hope that she and Stu would have changed their minds, and not given Judy that particular plot of land.

She was about to step down when she saw Steven standing up, "Mother that's not fair, Judy doesn't even want that land. She has said that many times and they are not even going to be living here. You should either break it up and divide among the rest of the family or keep it as shared family property. Besides, we still have a significant amount of this year's remaining crops on that land."

Bonnie shook her head, "It's their land. Once we have finished this year's harvest, we will turn it over to them. If they don't want it, then they can always sell it."

"But that's even worse! The family would be losing a significant amount of prime farmland, and then we would have strangers doing who knows what in the middle of our land."

Bonnie glanced at Stu, and she could see the concern on his face, as he gave her a small nod. She didn't like it, but Steven did have a good point. Over the years, several big corporations had come by offering to purchase any land their family had been willing to sell. Every time they had refused, mostly due to Judy's insistence that they shouldn't.

Bonnie sighed, "Fine, we'll talk to Judy and Nick about it, but I'm not sure if anything will change. We promised her that land, and this family wouldn't be where we are today without Judy. She deserves that land or the money that it's worth."

She paused a moment, trying to get back on track, "So as I was saying before, when Judy and Nick get here, we expect everyone to do their best to welcome Nick into the family."

* * *

Nick and Judy were finally heading out of the town, after having dinner at a chain restaurant that catered to both predators and prey. While Nick would have preferred taking Judy to some place nice, but they hadn't had the time since he had wanted to pick up a little surprise for the kits afterward.

Judy's family would be expecting them back soon, and with the additional stop he was planning on making, he knew they were already going to be getting back later than they probably should.

Nick glanced at the skyline, trying to judge how much longer it would be before sunset. As they left the town, Nick turned down one of the side roads.

"Nick, you turned off too soon." Judy watched as Nick just flashed her a toothy grin. She sighed, "So should I ask where we're going?"

"You'll see."

"Nick, my mom is going to be angry if we are too late getting back to the house."

"She can wait. Besides, if she gets upset, just blame it on me."

They continued driving for the next 10 minutes as Nick occasional checked the navigation app on his phone. Judy now had a suspicion of where they were going, though she didn't know why. Judy's eyes narrowed as she looked at her mate. Was their coming here coincidence, or did Nick somehow know just how much this place meant to her? If he did, then just who had told him? She had never told anyone about it. Judy watched out the window as they turned down the familiar dirt road. It was less than a minute before they entered the meadow and she could see the calm water of the lake.

They got out of the truck and walked down to the edge of the lake. Nick smiled, he had been lucky. He had been told to be here at sunset, and they had just made it. The view was breathtaking. The lake sat up on an outcropping above the valley's floor, and from where they stood they could see out across the small body of water and down into the valley. The red hue of the sunset was reflected beautifully across the calm surface. It looked like one of the pictures from off a postcard.

Nick heard Judy gasp at the sight. "I have always loved that view, but tonight it's perfect." As she took in the view, she had to know, "So how did you know about this place?"

Nick chuckled as he held her, "We foxes have our ways." If he ever saw that old doe that had told him about this place at the store again, he was going to have to thank her. He held Judy for a few minutes simply enjoying her company and the view. After a little while, he separated from her, "Close your eyes, Judy. I got you a little something to remember this day."

"Nick, you shouldn't have, you have already spent far too much money on me this past week."

"It's my money to spend, now close your eyes and no peeking."

He waited until he was sure her eyes were closed, "You know, I got into an argument about this with half a dozen rabbits at the store. They all insisted that rabbits don't do this and that I was wasting my money. But you did say we would go forward with how foxes do things. So, I'm holding you to that."

Judy was puzzled, trying to figure out what Nick was talking about.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Judy blinked several times. Then her eyes went wide at the fox on kneeling one knee in front of her holding out the small box containing the ring.

Nick smiled up at her, "Judy Hopps will you…" It was all he managed to get out before a gray blur of fur struck his chest, and Judy's lips met his.

It was a minute before they stopped for breath.

Nick chuckled as he held the crying rabbit, "Judy, traditionally the male at least gets to finish asking the female first. So, I can take that as a maybe?"

Judy kissed him again briefly before answering, "Of course I will marry you, you sly fox." As she leaned in and kissed Nick, she felt yet another stab of guilt for not having told Nick everything about registering.

* * *

Nick was sitting on an old blanket he had found in the back of the truck at the edge of the lake. Judy was nestled in his lap and couldn't help smiling as her eyes moved once more from the sunset back down to the ring on her finger.

Nick noticed her gaze, "So you're not angry that I bought you the ring? I know rabbits don't do engagements, but it's a fairly significant event in a fox's life, and it didn't feel right to skip it."

Judy took Nick's paw and intertwined her fingers with his, "Of course not. With all the things, you have conceded to for this relationship; this is nothing in comparison. Besides, I have seen so many mammals propose on the TV and in the movies that I always wondered what it would be like having someone propose to me."

"Well, how was it?"

Judy reached up and pulled Nick's muzzle down and kissed him, "It was perfect. It's something I will remember for the rest of my life."

After a little while, Judy's gazed dropped down to the ring again. She frowned as she looked at it, she couldn't help feeling guilty. All afternoon Judy had kept telling herself that she hadn't lied to Nick, everything she had said to him about registering had been the truth. But the fact was that she had intentionally withheld the most important thing about it from him, and it had been eating at her all afternoon. Today was their registration day. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but how could she feel that way, knowing that she had betrayed the fox she loved on one of the most important days of their lives?

Judy sighed, Nick was going to be furious with her. But it would be far worse the longer she waited, and already she could barely handle the guilt. Judy reached down and removed the ring. She didn't deserve to wear it, not until Nick knew everything. No, she would just have to deal with the consequences, even if it meant going back tomorrow and unregistering.

"Nick, we need to talk." She looked at the ring in her paw and fought back the tears that had already started to form, "I know you are going to be angry at me, and I deserve it. I'm sorry Nick, but I wanted to be with you so much that I intentionally didn't tell you everything I should have about registering.

"Nick, as you now know, rabbits don't do engagements, and there's a reason for that." She paused a moment steeling herself since she was sure she was soon going to be facing an enraged fox, "It's because rabbits are only concerned about registering, and not about getting married." She paused, letting Nick absorb that before continuing, "A lot of rabbits never bother getting married. Marriage is still kind of a new concept for rabbits, one that we borrowed from other species.

"When two rabbits get married, it's different than for other species. Because of the size of our families, and costs, we usually have two ceremonies, one with each family. The ceremonies just consist of the mates holding paws and reciting a few vows to each other. There's no minister, religious ceremony, rings, or receptions. We don't bother with any of that. We just express the love that we feel for our mate in front of others that we love." Judy just closed her eyes and waited for Nick's rebuke.

When Nick hadn't growled or snapped at her for over a minute, she finally risked opening an eye and looked up at the fox. She started to relax when she saw that Nick didn't appear to be angry, just deep in thought.

"So, when rabbits register, but don't marry then…", he stopped, giving up, and just asked her, "Judy, what does that make us?"

Judy reached up and touched his muzzle as she answered in a quiet voice, "I'm not sure what other species might consider us. But to other rabbits, you are my mate, the father to the kits we will have…," she paused, still a little unsure how Nick would react to it, "and my husband."

After a short time, Nick just nodded, "I suspected it might be something like that from all those forms and disclaimers." He paused a moment before saying, "Judy, I'm still going to insist that we have a wedding ceremony sometime after I graduate from the Academy, and we are going to have wedding rings. I don't want there to be any question in anyone's mind that we belong to each other."

Judy let out her breath, not even realizing that she had been holding it, "Of course Nick, we will have whatever kind of ceremony you want, and we can certainly wear wedding rings if that's what you want." She didn't mention that she had never understood the point of wedding rings, since marking was easier, more fun, and free. After all, her parents had been married for over 24 years and had never bothered with wedding rings. But if Nick wanted them, then she was perfectly willing to wear one.

Judy considered for a moment, then decided to go all in, "Nick, when do you want me to change my last name?" She had wanted to do it when they had registered but had thought that it would be too much, too soon, for the fox.

She looked up, watching as the Nick pondered a bit before answering, "Judy, that's up to you, but you may want to hold off until after we are married or at least until after I graduate. Soon you're going to be under a lot of scrutiny, with all the interviews and awards the Mayor has planned for you. It's only a matter of time before the news services are reporting that a fox was involved in the cases. If you suddenly have a new last name, and since it's now public record, it wouldn't be hard for a reporter to discover your mate's a fox. After that, it's not much of a leap for them to guess who was helping you with the cases."

Judy nodded. She had to agree with Nick's reasoning, though she didn't like it. No, if the choice was hers, then she would be changing her last name as soon as he graduated. For her, it was as the rings were for Nick. She wanted people to know immediately that they are husband and wife, whenever they are introduced.

The sun had almost completely set, and Judy knew that they really should be heading to her parents' house, but she did want to know the answer to her original question, "Nick, you never gave me a straight answer, how did you know about this place? Did someone from my family tell you about it?"

"If you really must know, when I was buying the ring, I asked if anyone knew of a scenic location I could take my mate to, and an older doe told me about this place. She said we should be here at sunset if possible. Why? What does it matter?"

Judy sighed in relief, "Just curious, this has always been my special place, and I was sure no one from my family knew that. When things used to get too hectic at home or when I just couldn't deal with my family, this is where I would always come to, to be alone. It has always been my favorite place."

Judy chuckled, "Even when I was a kit, I would often sneak off here. It used to drive my parents crazy when they discovered I was missing since I would never tell them where I had gone." She sighed, "The sad thing is that they only noticed I was missing, like once out of the two dozen times I would come here. I guess that's not saying much about rabbit parenting skills."

"Don't be too hard on your parents, Carrots. It happens more than you think. For a long time, I was my mother's only kit, and she never knew where I was." Nick could see the questioning look on Judy's face and continued, "My mom worked a lot of hours, and from when I was maybe 10 or 11 until I was 13, I only saw her on the weekends or asleep in her bed. I took care of myself most of the time, and she had no idea what I was doing."

"So, what were you doing?"

"Please, Carrots. This isn't the day to get into that. Let's just say that I usually wasn't home, like my mother thought I was, and that I was doing things that no mother would want their kit to be doing at any age."

Nick was thinking of what Judy had said, "Carrots, you said this was your special place, how did you get all the way out here when you were a kit?"

Judy laughed, "The way you got here was via all of the back roads. We are less than a mile from my parent's farm." She pointed into the growing gloom at the ridgeline, "Their house is just over that ridge." She moved her paw down a little, "that trail over there takes you straight to our farm. While we don't mind if people from the town visit the lake, my family owns it, and the surrounding land."

The sun was nearly down as Judy squeezed Nick's arm, "Nick, it's getting late, we really should get going, I'm sure my parents are wondering where we are."

Nick grinned, "Let them wait. Today is our day. You know we are alone, and that water does look really inviting. So I'm thinking, that we could take a little evening dip, and the grass and this blanket are a lot more comfortable than what we were using for a bed in my room."

Judy laughed, "Oh sure, like I'm going to walk into my parents' house, in front of my entire family, soaking wet, and smelling of shame on my registration day. I suspect my family wouldn't never let me live that down."

Nick grinned, "Well, now we have to do it. I have always wanted to know what shame smelled like."

Judy laughed, "In this case, I suspect, a lot like sex and wet fox."

"And what's wrong with smelling of wet fox?"

Judy laughed again, "Nothing if you're a fox. But when you're a bunny, I'm sure it would raise a lot of speculation on just what we were doing and where we were doing it. Besides, the kits aren't going to be up much longer, so if you want to give them your surprise tonight, then we need to get going."

Judy got up, then reached down and helped Nick up, "Come on and let's get this family gathering over with as quickly as we can. Tonight's our mating night, and I want to get to bed with my husband as soon as possible."

Nick stretched and yawned, "Yeah, I know what you mean. It has been a long day. I really could use a good night's rest."

Nick laughed and moved back before the elbow could make contact. "You had better be kidding Nick," she pulled him down into a deep kiss before continuing, "because I have plans for you tonight, Mister Wilde, and they don't include us getting a lot of rest."


	22. Chapter 22

Nick and Judy pulled into the parking lot at her parents' house. Judy was the first one out of the truck and quickly reached into the back removing the several bags containing her purchases. She wanted to keep those items as a surprise for Nick for later in the evening. Judy watched as Nick walked back and opened the tailgate and quickly pulled out two of the large brown cartons tucking one under each arm. She had been about to call several of her brothers over to help unload the truck, but now, didn't know if she should bother. Nick's strength could be a little scary sometimes. At the store, the buck that had loaded the cartons had struggled to lift a single container at a time into the truck.

As they reached the front door, the first thing Judy saw was the stern look on her mother's face. "It's about time you two got here!"

Nick cast a sly grin Judy's way, sidestepping past the older bunny as he entered the house, "I'm sorry about that Bonnie. I kept telling her we would be late, but she insisted we had plenty of time."

Judy rolled her eyes, "So what happened to all that insistence that you would take the blame for us being late?"

Nick turned around and continued backing towards the dining room and kitchen, "Are you sure? I don't remember it that way. Besides, that doesn't sound like me at all."

"Well, maybe a certain fox might remember just how cold and lonely it can be sleeping on the couch." She watched as Nick flashed her a grin, before vanishing into the dining room.

Bonnie couldn't help chuckling at Judy, "You only registered as mates a few hours ago, and you're already threatening to have your husband sleep on the couch?"

Judy sighed, "Oh please, like that's ever going to happen. I'm sure that would be more of a punishment for me than for Nick, and I suspect that damn fox is already aware of it. But enough of that , I'm sorry we're late, but Nick insisted that we make a couple extra stops. Anyways…" Judy glanced towards the dining room. "I need to get these out of sight before Nick gets too curious. I will be back down in a couple of minutes."

As she turned to leave, she stopped for a moment, "Oh, and don't send the kits to bed yet, Nick has brought a treat for them."

Bonnie watched as Judy quickly went up the stairs. Her daughter had only been gone a moment before Nick was back. He stopped briefly, "Don't be angry with Judy. It really was my fault we were late."

"I figured as much since Judy seldom lies."

Nick grinned, "I know what you mean, and when she does she's terrible at it. But don't worry, I'm working on it. I should have her lying like a pro in no time." As Nick continued past Bonnie on his way to get another load from the truck, he couldn't resist and turned back briefly, "Oh, when you next see Judy, ask her about the ring." He smiled as he saw the look of confusion in Bonnie's eyes. _Well, he thought, that should keep Judy busy for a while._

* * *

Judy quickly climbed the stairs and then went down the hallway to the guest room she had been using. Reaching the room, she looked in surprise at the mess. The furniture had been moved to the side to accommodate an additional dresser, a disassembled bed frame, and a box spring. She couldn't locate her suitcase or gym bag anywhere in the room. She glanced at the closed door to Nick's room and moved over and opened it. As she looked in, she couldn't help but smile.

Someone had removed all the furniture except for several folding chairs along one wall holding their luggage and personal effects. On the floor against the far wall were two mattresses pushed together to form a bed long enough for Nick. Around the room, sitting on the floor, were several vases containing freshly cut flowers from the garden, a tray containing various fruit and vegetables sat next to the bed along with a cooler. She went over and opened the cooler seeing several bottles of water, juice, and a bottle of Champagne. On seeing the last item, she knew that her parents must have sent someone into town to purchase it for them.

Judy left the room, closing the door behind her, before hiding her packages in her original room. As she headed back downstairs, she was already hoping her parents weren't expecting her and Nick to spend too much time socializing with the family. After all, it was their mating night, and there were other things she wanted to be doing with Nick tonight.

* * *

Judy found her mother waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs with a look of concern on her face. "Is the room alright? I know it's not much, but…"

Judy hugged her mom, "It's perfect. Thank you."

Bonnie hugged her back briefly, "Well, go find your husband, then come find Stu and me, there are several things we need to discuss. Then I expect for you two to make a quick round of the family before you retire for the evening." As Judy start to move towards the dining room, Bonnie remembered what Nick had said and glanced down at Judy's paws. Her eyes widened, and she quickly reached out and pulled Judy back, bringing her paw up so she could better view the ring on her finger, "Sweet cheese and crackers Judy, is that a real diamond? It's huge!"

Judy sighed at her mother's outburst. She could already see half a dozen of her sisters looking curiously at them and starting to come towards them to see what her mother was staring at. Judy already knew she was going to be tied up for a while telling her mom and sisters about what had happened at the lake.

* * *

It was a half an hour later before Judy could extract herself from her mother's and sister's constant barrage of questions and finally enter the dining room. Judy could see that Nick and several of her siblings were at the front table busy serving Nick's surprise. As she approached, she noticed that all of the kits were swarming around Nick instead of her other siblings. Judy quickly discovered the reason as Nick took a large scoop of ice cream and placed it onto a cone before handing it to the nearest kit. She could see the kit's eyes go wide at the size of the scoop of ice cream.

"Nick, don't give them that much. They will get sick."

"Carrots, you're the one that said they don't get treats like this very often. Let them enjoy themselves."

"Well, you did at least get the low sugar ice cream, didn't you?"

Nick laughed, "You were serious about that? No self-respecting popsicle vendor would be caught dead serving that stuff."

Judy sighed, "Nick, my Mom is going to kill you. You have apparently never seen close to a hundred kits experiencing a sugar rush before. They are literally going to be bouncing off the walls shortly. Well, at least the ones that aren't throwing up."

Nick chuckled, "Well, either way, it will be interesting to watch," as he handed out another large cone to the next kit.

Judy moved next to Nick picking up a scoop and quickly filled a cone with a more reasonably sized portion before trying to hand it to one of the kits. She frowned as the kit didn't take the cone, but instead gave her the same big eyed trembling lip stare she had used several times on Nick. Dammit, Nick was right, that stare was completely unfair. She sighed, realizing that Nick had already served large portions to nearly all the kits and relented and added more ice cream to the cone. This time the kit quickly took the cone and bolted away before she had a chance to change her mind. Oh well, I guess Mom will be killing both of us then.

When they had severed the last kit, Judy nudged Nick. "Come on, now that you have finished bribing all of the kits into adoring you, let's wash our paws. My siblings can finish serving the rest of the family. My parents still want to talk to us, let's get it over with. Then maybe we can sneak upstairs before anyone notices we are missing."

Nick leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Bonnie and Stu were sitting under one of the pavilions along the side of their house. They were enjoying their ice cream cones while watching the young kits playing in the playground under the light of the numerous floodlights.

As Bonnie watched the kits, she said, "It's going to be a while until they're tired out enough that we can get them into bed."

Stu shrugged, "That's okay, I think I'll let everyone sleep in a bit tomorrow. There's still a couple of days until we need to gather the next portion of the harvest, so there is nothing critical that needs to be done. We can get by with just a couple hours of chores tomorrow morning. Besides, everyone was also up late last night, and I don't want to risk anyone getting hurt because they're tired."

Bonnie smiled, as Nick and Judy took seats across from them. "Nick, thank you for the ice cream. The kits are all enjoying it. We usually only can afford to get it for them a couple of times a year."

"You're welcome, and there is still quite a bit left so there should be enough for a few more evenings."

Bonnie had a little smirk on her face, "Judy, while I suspect you two probably are tired and want to settle in for the night, your father and I thought we should discuss a few things while you are both here."

Stu leaned forward, "Judy now that you and Nick have registered we wanted to talk to you about the land that we have been holding for you."

Judy groaned, "There isn't anything to discuss! I have told you both many times that I don't want that land."

Nick looked across the table at Judy's parents. "What land?"

Stu answered, "Nick, I don't know if you are aware of it, but Judy has done a lot for our family. When she was twelve, we placed her in charge of all our older kits. Since then Judy has made herself virtually indispensable. Not only did she take care of the older kits, but it was also her idea for us to start growing crops other than just carrots. That alone has more than doubled our farm's revenue. It was also Judy that came up with the idea years ago to open the vegetable stand which has been a resounding success. Additionally, for the past five years, she has been to one to negotiate with the buyers. She has been so successful at it that most of the other farms wouldn't even talk to them until they hear what price Judy has managed to negotiate for our farm for the year."

"Whenever our kits graduate from high school, we have always given them the choice of either a plot of land or help with tuition for college. In Judy case, when she graduated, and the ZPD wasn't allowing rabbits to apply, so she wanted to go to college." Nick watched as Judy's parents glanced at each other each with a guilty look on both of their faces, "At the time we pressured her into staying home and helping with the family. When she agreed to do that, her mother and I decided to reserve a particular plot of land for her. We have been saving quite a few acres right across the street from our stand. It is prime farmland, and the family has been using it on and off over the years to raise various crops. It already has a barn on it, and just need a small house to get started."

Stu looked down at his clasped hands, "Ever since Judy graduated high school, we knew that Judy has wanted to leave BunnyBurrow a bunch of times, but we have always managed to convince her to stay and help the family. That is until the Academy started accepting rabbits as recruits. At the time, we didn't even know that Judy had applied or had been accepted until the day before she was supposed to report to the Academy." Stu glanced at Judy, who was staring down at the table, before moving his gaze back to Nick, "I'm sure she didn't tell us about before then to prevent us from being able to pressure her into stay again."

Stu sighed, "Judy, your mother and I are very aware of all of the sacrifices you have made for the family. It was because of that, and the guilt we felt holding you here, that we have increased the size of that plot several times over the years."

Judy suddenly looked up, surprise clearly written on her face, "Wait, _that_ is the reason you kept increasing the size of the plot?"

Stu looked confused, "Of course it was, why did you think we were doing it?"

Judy blushed and covered her eyes and started rubbing her forehead with a paw before answering, "Every time you increased it, every single buck in the area would suddenly start taking an interest in me or rather that damn land. I always thought you were just doing it to try and convince all the local bucks to try and hook up with me."

Stu glanced at Bonnie briefly who returned an apologetic shrug. He sighed before continuing, "The truth is that was a consideration when we originally reserved that land for you. At the time, you were already so important to the family, that we wanted you to find a nice young buck and for the two of you to start a family here. I know it's bad, but we were both so glad when you quit the ZPD and moved back home. We were hoping that you would finally decide to settle down here."

"Dad, I have told you both numerous times that I have never wanted to be a farmer or a farmer's wife. At this point, even if I were to lose my job at the ZPD again, I have no intention of ever moving back here. I will just find another job in the city."

Nick smiled, "Which is a good thing because I'm a city fox. I don't know anything about farming, and I have no intentions of ever learning anything about it."

Stu looked back to Judy, "Judy, you have earned that land. So, if you don't want it, then I guess you could just sell it."

"Dad, I'm not going to take that land, and I'm not going to sell it. Who knows who would buy it? While you may get a nice family as a neighbor, for all you know, whoever buys it could put in a chicken processing plant like they did at the other end of the valley. No, the family should keep it and continue to use it."

"Okay Judy, then don't sell it. What if the family leases it from you? We could give you a percentage of the profits for whatever we grow on it."

"Dad, I don't want to deal with that. Besides, the family needs all of the profits it can get."

"Nick and I don't need anything. We both just got large bonuses, so we have plenty of money in the bank." She squeezed Nick's paw, "Assuming I can convince Nick to stop spending all of it on me."

"No promises, Carrots. But, if I get those last two paychecks I was promised, we will have well over eighty thousand left over, even with all of my purchases."

He glanced over and saw Judy's eyes partially closed in concentration. He gently flicked her closest ear, "Stop it, Carrots."

"Ow... Stop what?"

"Stop trying to figure how much I spent on your engagement ring. It was my money to spend, so you don't need to know how much I spent on it."

Nick could see that Stu was about to offer something else and he already knew that Judy had made up her mind and wasn't going to budge. "Look, this isn't getting us anywhere, and I don't want this to spoil tonight. Why don't we just shelve this conversation for now and maybe discuss it again at a later date? Judy, we never did get to try any of the ice cream, why don't you calm down a bit and get us both a cone?"

Nick was a little surprised when Judy didn't complain and got up, "Fine, but no matter what they say, I don't want you to accept that land."

"Okay, Carrots I won't."

Nick watched as Judy reentered the house. He sat quietly for a little while until he was sure she wasn't coming right back then he leaned forward and flashed a toothy grin at Bonnie and Stu, "Well, now that Judy is out of the way, I believe you were talking about alternatives to accepting that plot of land. I have a couple of ideas, and I think some negotiations may be in order."

Bonnie cast a cautious glanced at her husband before asking, "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

As Judy walked back outside carrying the two ice cream cones, she frowned as she saw Nick and her parents huddled together at the picnic table. She couldn't help noticing that they all quickly leaned back and stopped talking the moment they saw her approaching.

"Nick, you had better not have agreed to take that land."

"Of course I didn't, Judy. You were quite clear on that."

"Or anything else for that matter," as she looked suspiciously at the fox.

"Nope, I haven't accepted anything. So, stop worrying about it."

Nick put on his most innocent expression as he reached out and accepted a cone from Judy. It was the truth after all. He hadn't accepted anything…yet. But the negotiations were going far better than he had expected and he already knew he was going to get what he wanted. Incredibly, the hardest part of the negotiations was that Stu and Bonnie were both insisting that what he wanted wasn't enough. As he licked at his cone, Nick was already confident that they would be able to quickly hammer out the details the next time he had a chance to talk alone with Judy's parents.

* * *

"Well?" Judy asked hopefully.

Nick leaned in, studying Judy's leg a moment longer. "I think it's healed enough that we probably don't need to bandage it anymore. Just be careful when you are washing it." He motioned her forward and inspected the small wound under her ear. "For this one, it's up to you. It's small and has healed enough that it should also be okay without a bandage."

Judy sighed, "It's about time. I have been dying to be able to start running and jumping again. I'm getting out of shape just sitting around."

"Well, you are certainly not going to be running or jumping anytime soon. I said you don't need bandages, not that you are all healed." He considered a moment, "But, if you want to, starting tomorrow, we can start going for walks, under the condition that if your leg starts to bother you, you tell me. I mean it, no hiding it or you are going to be spending the next two weeks sitting on the couch."

"Okay. And Nick… thank you for taking care of me."

"You're welcome." Nick leaned close, pulling her into a deep kiss. When they broke apart, he said "I'm going to take my turn in the bathroom. I'll be right back so don't go anywhere." As he got up from the bed, he flashed her a grin, "Or do. It has been a long time since I got to stalk someone. That might be fun, especially the part where I catch you."

Judy laid back on the bed, intentionally spreading her legs a bit. She was only wearing her sports bra and panties like she normally did to bed. She smiled as she saw him hesitate, his eyes roving over her body, "That sounds like it might be fun. But I think you have the roles reversed. I'm pretty sure that I should be the one doing the stalking."

Nick chuckled, "Come on Judy, who's the predator here? Stalking is supposed to be my job."

Judy snorted, "Oh please, if had I left it in your paws, you would still be chasing your tail and debating whether you should risk asking me out. Instead, I've got my fox right where I want him: in my bed, and as my husband."

"Well, I suppose we could take turns."

"We will talk about it later. Now get ready for bed and get back here. I'm getting lonely in this big bed all by myself."

Judy watch as Nick exited the room. The moment he did she quickly got out of the bed and listened at the door. As soon as she heard the bathroom door close, she opened the bedroom door and peeked out. After confirming Nick wasn't in sight and that the bathroom door was closed, she quickly went back to her old room and retrieved the items she had hidden earlier.

She returned to their room and quickly undressed, pulling the small bottle out of the bag and sprayed herself with it. After a deep sniff, she frowned, not really smelling anything. All she could make out was a very faint musky odor. Was that really it? It was disappointing, the reviews online had sounded promising, and it had been expensive. Placing the bottle back into the bag, she climbed back onto the mattresses.

It took her several moments of repeated shifting to try determine how best to pose for her husband before she finally gave up. Until this very moment, she'd never regretted being a bit of a tomboy growing up. Tonight needed to be perfect, but she had never tried being sexy before and didn't know how. She was still considering what to do when the door opened, and Nick walked in.

As Nick entered the room, his eyes were immediately drawn to Judy and the sheer white negligee she was wearing. It hid just enough, in just the right places. After seeing that, he couldn't help himself. He grinned at her then dropped to all four and slowly stalked his way to and then onto the mattresses slowly moving above her until he was muzzle to muzzle with her, "Growl!"

Judy burst out laughing as she looked up at her mate.

"Okay, then 'yip'?"

Judy laughed again and pushed the fox over, watching as he settled on his side next to her with a big grin on his face.

Judy turned to face her mate trying to stifle her laughter, "For the record, having a fox say the words "growl" and "yip" instead of making the actual noises is utterly ridiculous."

Nick moved in, taking a playful nip at her neck, "I just didn't want to terrify my poor innocent bunny."

"Oh please, like I'm going to be afraid of a big fur ball like you. Besides, I love your real growls and yips." She grinned and started kissing her way up his chest. "They let me know we are doing things right. As she reached his neck, she was pretty sure she was in the right spot and bit his neck lightly. After a moment, she released his neck and frowned when she didn't get the reaction she wanted. She moved up a little and bit down again. She kept her teeth gripped on his throat and smiled at the whine that came from Nick as he shifted his head back fully exposing his neck. Yes, that was the reaction she had wanted. Her paw slid down his body and into his boxers. She already knew what she would find. They had recently discovered that a bite in that location had just as exciting an effect on tods as it did on female does. She stroked him slowly listening as he whimpered and whined. After a minute, she knew he was getting close and her hand stop it motion and slowly sliding back out of his boxers.

She heard Nick's whine of protest. "Judy!"

She released his neck, licking the spot she had bitten before nipping again on another spot as her paw rubbed and scratched his stomach.

Judy grinned as Nick suddenly rolled over quickly moving above her growling and taking his turn kissing and nipping at her neck. "There's my alpha fox."

Her grin widened as she heard the muffled, "Damn right."

Nick reached down and pulled her top up. His free paw moved down rubbing up and down her taut stomach before pulling it up further.

As Nick started to kiss his way down, he froze, catching the unfamiliar scent for the first time.. He pulled back sniffing the air trying to draw in more of the enticing smell. He could already feel his body responding as his instincts kicked in, telling him what the smell was, even as his rational mind fought back that it shouldn't be possible.

Finally realizing the source of the smell, Nick never stopped sniffing as he asked in a hesitant voice, "Judy what did you…" his words were cut off as she pulled him up into another deep kiss.

As they separated, she gazed into his eyes, Judy was startled when she saw that his pupils had fully dilated and that there was only a little of the emerald green present. She could see the desire, uncertainty, and even a little fear in those eyes.

"Judy, I..."

Judy smiled and silenced him with another kiss. As she broke away, "I know what you want and need Nick, and it's okay, I will be here for you all night long."

* * *

Nick was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, while pondering how he had gotten to this point in his life. He glanced down at the rabbit that he suspected had fallen asleep on his chest. As he pondered, one of his paws gently stroked her back while occasionally stopping to fondle the silky soft fur on her tail.

He had only known her for a couple of days before they had been separated for well over a month. A month during which, no matter what he tried, he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind. Then just a little over a week ago she had come back, pleading for his help. He leaned his head down to sniff briefly at his mark that he had placed on the rabbit, and now she was his mate. Nick brought his paw up and casually stroked her cheek. They had registered as mates today, and while they hadn't had a wedding ceremony, legally and in every way, that mattered, Judy was now his wife.

Nick wondered what his family and associates would think when they found out. He certainly wasn't the first fox to jump head first into a relationship and quickly get married, but for foxes it was exceedingly rare. Nick knew that most foxes wouldn't be able to grasp how another fox could do it. He could understand that perspective, since up until a couple of days ago he had felt the same way. But not now. For the first time in a long time, he felt happy. The vulpine stopped to consider that thought a moment and quickly decided that it wasn't just happy. No, for the first time in close to twenty years he felt whole again, and it was all because of the small gray form lying on top of him.

While at times he had been uncomfortable with how fast their relationship had progressed, he had always been aware that he could have slowed it down at any time and that Judy would have done so for his sake. No, he thought, it was better this way. Judy was now his, and that was the only thing that mattered.

* * *

Judy woke to the sound of several kits racing down the hallway past their bedroom door. She cracked an eye open looking at the sleeping form of her husband lying underneath her. Judy felt the need to use the bathroom and shifted to get up, then immediately settled back down feeling several aches traveling through her body. She sighed, as she considered that they might have overdone things a little bit the previous night. Judy shifted each of her limbs wincing at accompanying aches then massaged her throbbing head. Okay, she had been wrong. They had definitely overdone things last night. Even so, she had no regrets.

Judy couldn't help smiling as she thought about the previous night. The whole night had just been one long pleasurable blur. She couldn't even remember when they had finally collapsed into an exhausted sleep.

She stretched as she thought about Nick's present and chuckled to herself. Given how everything had gone, she realized she should probably consider it as having been her present. Her concerns about not being able to smell anything had been so very wrong, and if anything, the reviews had all underplayed it. Nick had been so demanding and unrestrained last night that even with her hormones in overdrive she could barely keep up with the fox, though that fact hadn't prevented her from using nearly half of the bottle. She didn't care how expensive it was. The moment they got home, she was going to be ordering more online. She grinned as she wondered if there was a bulk discount available.

As Judy looked at Nick's face, she knew that at some point very soon they would need to have a conversion about last night. Nick's present had revealed one thing. She wasn't sure if Nick had been afraid of hurting her or of revealing too much of his predatory nature, but she now knew that every time they had previously made love Nick had been holding back a lot. After last night, there was no way she was going to allow him to do that again.

Judy eventually forced herself off of Nick and onto the mattress next to him. She slowly shifted into a sitting position before eventually getting up. She didn't want to bother with the effort it would take to get dressed, so she cracked the door and looked both ways before darting nude across the hall and into the bathroom.

A few minutes later she crossed back to the bedroom and settled back onto the mattress with a bottle of Tigerol clutched tightly in her paw. She pulled the cooler next to her and opened it. Thankful that there was still a bottle of water in it. She opened it and used it to chase down several of the tablets. Rubbing her throbbing head briefly, she let her eyes finally take in the room. The first thing she noticed was the bottle laying a few feet from the mattress. She glared accusingly at the very large, very _empty_ bottle of champagne. She tried to remember back to when they had finished it, but really couldn't recall when that was.

She let her eyes roam around the rest of the room. Most of the fruit and vegetables that had been on the tray was gone. There was a large empty plastic container whose label indicated that it had apparently contained turkey jerky, lying on its side on the floor. Surrounding it, were half a dozen empty protein bar wrappers. She felt a little guilty about them, Nick had bought them so he would have something to eat if necessary, and she had eaten most of them.

Judy's gaze slowly focused on Nick's form lying on the mattresses. His fur was a mess. She adamantly refused to look down at her fur, already knowing it had to be in far worse shape than his. Most of Nick's body was lying on the bare mattresses since she could see that the sheets had been shredded by either her or Nick's claws at some point during the night.

She was considering just climbing back on top of her furry mattress and going back to sleep when she heard the knock on the door.

Judy could hear the smirk in her mother's voice, "Judy, I just thought I would mention that it's noon. I just wanted to know if you two would like to come down for lunch. If not, then I can bring you two up another tray of food."

"That's okay mom, we're going to get up. We need to be getting back to Zootopia. Don't worry about lunch. We will stop somewhere on the way to the train station. I want to make sure Nick gets another proper meal before we head back. Can you save one of the trucks for us this afternoon?"

"Of course, dear, take your time."

Judy snuggled back up against Nick's side her paw gently rubbing Nick's stomach. "Come, Nick, I know you're awake. You are a much lighter sleeper than I am."

Nick merely groaned, "The fox you are trying to reach is temporarily out of service. Please try again tomorrow."

Judy couldn't help but smile, "Come on Nick, we need to get up."

She watched as Nick slowly turned onto his side facing her. "Ow... You know how the other day I said your dad was going to bury my corpse in a shallow grave behind the barn?"

"Yes."

"Well, why don't you have your brother's start digging the hole. I think that option will be preferable to getting up. I don't know what the hell that stuff was, but it has got to be illegal."

Judy chuckled, "It's not illegal, Nick. It's called FoxFire. It's an artificial pheromone that's meant to match what a vixen releases when she's in heat. I read online that for a tod, mating with a vixen in heat is supposed to be something special. I'm not sure if you are aware of it, but rabbits don't have heat cycles. So, since I can never offer that experience to you naturally, I was hoping that using this might come close."

"Well, I have never mated with a vixen in heat before, so I can't tell you if it's the same or not. All I can say is that if it is any more intense with an actual vixen, then I doubt I would survive the experience. I barely survived last night with you."

Judy smiled and rubbed Nick's muzzle, "Well, if that's the case then maybe we shouldn't use it again. I suppose I could just dump the rest of it down the drain."

Nick was quick to reply, "Hey now... let's not get too hasty there, Carrots. Once we have had a little while to recover, we should probably try it again before making that kind of decision."

Judy couldn't help smiling, "So maybe we should just save it for special occasions like birthdays and holidays."

Nick leaned in and kissed her, "Yeah, we could do that… but you know I think Saturdays are a relatively special occasion too."

Judy chuckled, "So, Saturdays huh?"

As Nick kissed her again, he murmured in her ear, "Though you know Wednesdays are a pretty special occasion as well."

Judy grinned as Nick moved down and started nipping at her neck, "Nick, isn't today Wednesday?"

Nick paused as he kissed his way down her body, "Why, I believe you may be right. What a coincidence."

Judy laughed, pushing the fox away. "Come on Nick, or we will never make it out of this bed. I think it's time to head home. We only have a couple of weeks until you head off to the Academy and I want to spend as much time as I can with my husband without my family being underpaw."


	23. Chapter 23

Nick and Judy were standing on the train platform facing Judy's parents. Nick had been a little surprised when Bonnie and Stu had insisted on bringing them to the station. Every time he had seen them over the last several days, they had always been busy doing something around the farm.

Nick couldn't help the smile that formed on his face when he heard Stu start crying as he pulled Judy into a hug. The fox glanced at Bonnie then leaned down when Bonnie reached up and pulled him close. As he held the bunny she whispered in his ear, "Nick, Stu and I talked it over last night, and while we still think you two deserve more, we are going to give you what you asked for as a down payment. We'll be stopping by our lawyer's office on the way home and fill out the paperwork. Give us a call when Judy's not around, and we will figure out a way to get it to you."

Nick murmured back, "Thanks, Bonnie."

"I'm not sure if you should be thanking me, Nick. I know my daughter, and I'm sure she's going to go ballistic when she finds out."

Nick chuckled and continued in a whisper, "Oh, I have a few ideas. Trust me, I have a lot of experience selling new ideas to mammals. When I'm done, I can almost guarantee she will accept it. If she doesn't, then in the worst case we give it back and I spend a month sleeping on the couch. I have slept in worse places."

As they separated Bonnie looked up at the fox as continued in her normal voice, "Nick, you said last night that there were issues between you and your family. While I hope you can work things out with them, I just want you to know that you're now part of our family and you are always welcome in our home."

Nick couldn't help feeling a little choked up. He had been looking into the doe's eyes when she had said it and knew she was telling the truth. Nick was so used to being looked down on by other mammals, simply because he had been born a fox. On hearing Bonnie's assurances, for one of the first times in his life he was at a loss for words.

"Bonnie…"

The matronly rabbit smiled softly, "We're family now, Nick. You can call us Mom and Dad, if you're comfortable with it. "

Nick couldn't help himself as he hugged the older bunny again, "Thanks for everything… Mom."

"You're welcome. Just keep taking good care of my daughter."

As Nick exchanged places with Judy, he he spotted the big grin on Judy's face and already knew she had caught the last part of their conversation.

While he reached out to shake Stu's paw, he already suspected what was coming, and just allowed the rabbit to pull him into the tight hug when it happened. As they parted, Nick reached down, picked up their bags, then took Judy's paw.

Stu wrapped an arm around his wife, as Nick and Judy turned towards the train, "Remember, we expect to see both of you back here on a regular basis."

Nick and Judy both gave a final wave before entering the train.

* * *

Nick sighed in relief as he followed Judy back into their apartment. While certain aspects of their trip had been great, the confining spaces of her parents' house along with the apparent need of nearly four hundred rabbits to either be continuously pressing against him or touching him had had him constantly on edge the last several days.

He dropped the bags on the floor just inside the door, then made his way to the couch. He sighed in relief as he flopped face down onto it. He turned his head just enough to make out the TV screen and then started groping blindly for the remote. Unfortunately, that was as far as he got before his view was suddenly blocked by a small gray figure with her paws on her hips.

"Nick, what do you think you are doing?"

"Um… I think I'm going to watch a little TV, and then take a nice long nap until dinner time." He shifted making some space before thumping the couch with a paw, "Come here and join me."

"While that sounds lovely, Nick, that's not what we are going to do. Someone promised me that we could go for a walk today to get some exercise. There are a lot of parks in Savanna Central, and I've never had the free time to check any of them out. So, get up, starting today we are going to visit at least one different park every day until you report to the Academy."

Judy tried not to smile at the groan that seemed to emanate from deep inside the couch. She lifted her injured leg while balancing on the other, and used it to push against the side of the fox's butt several times. "Come on, get up, Nick. After the park, we also need to stop and get some groceries. I don't think we have anything with protein in it in the apartment, so at a minimum we need to get you some more protein bars."

Judy did smile this time as she heard Nick groan even louder. When Nick eventually reached his paw out, she took it to help the fox up. Her eyes widened as Nick's paw suddenly tightened around her wrist and he started pulling her towards the couch. The determined bunny tried to dig in her heels, but she was already too close to the couch.

"Nick, No! Bad Fox!", she shouted as Nick continued to drag her in. With a final yank and a flip, the surprised lapine found herself on the couch with the full weight of the fox laying on top her.

Judy tried not to laugh as she struggled, but quickly discovered it was useless trying to move the fox. As she tried to figure out her next move, she heard the TV turn on as Nick commented, "There, that's better."

"Nick, let me up, or I swear to God, I will use the face!"

Nick chuckled as he shifted around trying to get more comfortable on the now lumpy couch, "Knock yourself out, Carrots. Feel free to use that sorrowful look of yours all you want, I'll just remind you that it doesn't work so well when I can't see your face."

"Nick, you promised!"

"A little advice Carrots, I might take you a bit more seriously if you weren't laughing quite so hard."

"Nick, please. I want to go. I have been going crazy this past week not being able to get any proper exercise."

"What are you talking about? We have both been getting quite a workout every night. I don't know about you, but most of my muscles are still sore from last night."

"I'm sore too, but it's not the same thing. I feel the need to run and jump, but for now, I'm willing to settle for just a long walk. Besides, it will probably help to stretch out our sore muscles."

Judy thought that Nick was considering it, but wasn't sure since all she could see was a close-up view of the fox's chest. She decided that maybe a little incentive might be in order, "Nick, if you take me to the park, I will give you another full body massage."

Nick snorted, "You still owe me the last one. You were less than a quarter of the way through when you cheated."

"Hey, I was trying to massage the tension out of your body. It's not my fault a particular part of your body seemed to be tenser than the rest. I also don't recall hearing any complaints from you at the time." After a moment Judy chuckled, "Besides, I did work out the knot didn't I?"

Nick laughed and gently rolled over onto his back before glancing down at the bunny now lying on his chest, "Funny, a fox sex joke. I didn't know you had it in you."

Judy smirked and casually stroked Nick's muzzle, "Well, I don't have it in me now. But you take me for my walk, then maybe I will tonight."

Nick laughed again, "How can I possibly say no to my naughty little bunny?" He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, "Fine, let's go for a walk."

* * *

Nick was hurrying as he finished getting ready for bed; His muscles were still sore, and the massage Judy had promised was going to feel so good. It was still early in the evening, but they had both been so exhausted that it hadn't surprised him when Judy had started to get ready for bed soon after dinner.

As he exited the bathroom, Nick sighed in disappointment, already seeing that the massage was going to have to wait for another time. He turned off the lights, then carefully climbed into the bed. Nick tried his best not to disturb the sleeping rabbit, has he curled himself around his mate. He had barely closed his eyes before he joined his mate in slumber.

* * *

Nick was racing down the corridor. He could feel the dull ache in his side each time he extended his arms and legs as he ran as fast as he could on all four paws. He had slammed his side into a wall several turns back when his paw pads and his claws had failed to maintain a grip on the slick waxed linoleum flooring. Then he saw it… his destination, the side corridor to the left just ahead. In a single practiced move, he pushed off the ground with his front paws and switched from running on all four to just his legs, a maneuver that had taken him weeks of practice to master without falling flat on his muzzle.

Nick's lungs were burning as he slid on the flooring around the corner into the side hallway, his right paw reaching to the small of his back for his pistol. His eyes went wide and he felt dread in the pit of his stomach as his paw closed on nothing but air. Ahead of him, he could see a ram in a ZPD uniform holding a pistol to Judy's head, her eye locked with his then they closed in sorrow and resignation. Then time slowed to a crawl, as he heard the sharp crack of the gun's discharge, saw the flash from the end of the barrel, the blood as it splattered against the wall, then the lifeless body as it slowly toppled out of the wheelchair onto the floor.

Nick's eyes flew open, the scream of Judy's name still emanating from his throat. He gasped for breath as his paw tore off the sheet. His heart was hammering so hard it felt like it was trying to escape from his chest. He sat up trembling as he felt the prickling sensation of heat radiating from his body as it warred with the chilled dampness from the thin layer of sweat under his fur. His ears were on fire as they tried to help dissipate his flushed body's excessive heat.

Nick's eyes flicked around the room in fear as his mind fought to recall where he was until the familiar surroundings finally registered. Then he felt the small arms wrap tightly around him and the familiar voice. "It's alright Nick. It was just a nightmare. I'm okay. We're both okay."

Nick reached over and quickly pulled Judy onto his lap. He held her tightly, his head resting on hers while drawing in her scent as he tried to reassure himself that his mate truly was alright. He held her for several minutes as Judy's paw gently stroked his muzzle until both his heart rate and breathing had finally returned to normal.

Eventually, Judy's voice broke the silence, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Nick closed his eyes, "There's not much to talk about," he paused for a moment, trying to recall the details of the dream that were already starting to fade, before answering in a quiet voice, "It was the same dream. I couldn't save you. All I could do was watch you die."

Nick held Judy for several more minutes before glancing at the alarm clock, seeing that it wasn't even midnight yet. As he looked down at his mate, he could see that she was fighting to keep her eyes open. Nick gently slid her off his lap and helped her to lie down. He rubbed his paw against her cheek, "Go back to sleep, Judy. I'm going to take a quick shower to cool down. We can talk about it in the morning." He watched as Judy nodded, then waited until her eyes closed before getting up and headed towards the bathroom.

* * *

When Nick exited the bathroom, he could see that Judy was fast asleep in their bed. He was still exhausted and debated joining her, but just couldn't bring himself to face the possibility of another nightmare. He turned and entered the living room as he tried to console himself that sleep was highly overrated anyway.

Nick pulled out his laptop and sat down on the couch. There were things he needed to do before leaving for the Academy, and he may as well start doing some of them now.

* * *

Judy woke and looked around the dark room, reaching out and feeling the empty, cold side of the bed where her mate should have been. Seeing that it was a little after three in the morning, she got up and stumbled her way to the bathroom. When she exited several minutes later, she noticed the light emanating from the couch. When Judy approached, she could see Nick's slumped form and the open laptop resting on his lap. She pulled the laptop away, squinting curiously at the glaringly bright screen.

As she looked at the screen, she could guess what Nick was planning on them doing in the morning. It wasn't that surprising since they had discussed it in the past. She just hoped it would go better than the last time she had tried. She closed the laptop, placing it the coffee table.

Judy spent a moment, debating what to do about Nick. While she didn't want to wake him, she knew he would be sore the next morning if she left him as he was. After a moment she reached out and gently shook the fox, "Nick, come on, let's get you back to bed." Judy helped Nick up then gently guided him back to their bed.

* * *

Nick and Judy were sitting in a booth at the Foxington diner as they were waiting for their lunch to arrive.

Nick was looking in disgust as he slowly scrolled through his list of contacts on his phone. He growled in frustration. Why was it that if he wanted someone killed there were several mammals he could call? If he wanted something stolen and didn't feel like doing it himself? He knew at least half a dozen of the best thieves in Zootopia. Needed any kind of license or legal document? Again, he had numerous contacts. He could have whatever he wanted within hours, issued directly from whatever government agency oversaw them, as long he was willing to pay the requisite bribe. But find a real-estate agent that could help a fox and rabbit find an apartment in a nice neighborhood? Nada… After scrolling through the list for the third time, he finally gave up and dropped the phone on the table.

Nick glared accusingly at the phone and his mind wandered back to the morning which had been a disaster, to put it mildly. They had spent all of it traveling around via public transport and taxis, just to try and see three different apartments. Then each time they got there, it was the same story. Whoever was showing the apartment took one look at them or rather him, and suddenly, "Oh, I'm sorry, but we just rented it to someone else." Apparently, no one wanted to rent a decent apartment to a fox regardless of what the anti-discrimination laws said.

* * *

Judy was hoping that none of the annoyance she could see in Nick's expression was being directed at her. She tentatively leaned against Nick and then felt relief when he wrapped an arm around her.

The morning hadn't gone well, and she knew it was her fault. The same thing had happened months ago when she had initially moved to Zootopia and had looked for an apartment. After several days of searching, she had only been able to locate one place within her price range, that someone was willing to rent to a rabbit. When she had been growing up, she had often heard others referring to the old saying, that if you were foolish enough to let one rabbit in, it would only be a matter of time, before you'd be overrun by them. Evidently, everyone they had talked to this morning was a firm believer of that saying.

The problem was, while she hated to admit it, she knew there was more than a grain of truth in the saying. While she had no intentions of having dozens of kits, many rabbit couples did. Then there was her family, she hadn't mentioned it to Nick since he had already been on edge, but when they had been at her parents several of her siblings had already been hinting that they would like to come and visit with her and Nick. Others had openly asked if it would be possible for them to stay with them while they tried to find jobs within the city. At the time, she had been adamant that she wouldn't even consider it since she wanted to spend time alone with her mate. But she knew it would become much harder to refuse them once Nick had left for the Academy.

As their meals arrived, Judy could still see the concern in Nick's eyes. She reached up and rubbed the side of his muzzle, "Nick, calm down, we will find something. Okay? We still have a couple of weeks."

Judy watched as the fox nodded before reaching for his silverware.

* * *

Nick and Judy were halfway through their meals when Finnick approached and climbed into the booth across from them. "Hey, Nick. Officer Cottontail." As he settled into the seat, he glanced over at the rabbit, "I see you're still hanging out with the fuzz."

Nick glared at the fennec fox before putting his fork down and pushing his plate away.

Finnick noticed the cold look Nick was casting his way, "So, what's with the look?" After several long seconds without a response from the larger fox, Finnick rolled his eyes, "Okay Nick, what did I do this time?"

"Care to explain to me about how you purchased your parents' restaurant five years ago and never told me? Or how less than a week ago, you tried to hustle me out of three hundred K, to help purchase a piece of property you already own?"

Finnick's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide in surprise, "How did you find that out? You couldn't have been to the property. You have been avoiding Fox Town like the plague for years."

"Never mind how I found out, just explain what the hell is going on. We have known each other for almost twenty years, you know the rules, we lie and con other mammals, not each other."

Finnick was silent for a little while before continuing; his eyes were focused on his paws as he finally answered, "I didn't tell you because I knew you would call me a fool for what I did."

Finnick glanced into Nick's face still seeing the icy expression before dropping his eyes once more to his paws. After a moment he finally answered, "The truth is, the day I closed on the property, I had the restaurant torn down, and the entire lot bulldozed clean. I haven't been back to the property since, and I probably never will." He paused briefly before continuing, "I know how you are about money Nick, and I didn't want you to try and talk me out of doing it. The truth is, I spent nearly half a million dollars in a vain attempt to bury part of my past," the small fox raised his head and looked straight into Nick's eyes, "and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Judy looked back and forth between the two foxes not having a clue what was going on, but afraid of asking any questions given how serious the conversation was. When Finnick looked down at his paws again, Judy couldn't help but notice that Nick's paw quickly wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

When Nick next spoke again, his voice wasn't as nearly as cold, "And the three hundred K?"

Judy watched as she saw the small fox shrugged, "I doubted you would actually show up with the money. I figured by now you would have gotten Cottontail there out of your system, and we would be back to working the streets."

Finnick finally met Nick's eyes, "Nick, it wasn't all lies. I really have been considering opening a pizzeria over the past several years. I have even gone so far as to scout out several possible locations. While I probably have enough money to open the restaurant, it's a big risk considering that most fail within the first year. If I try and fail, I will lose everything I have saved over the past twenty years. I figured if you really were offering to help, it would help to reduce the risk. I thought that once I picked a location, I would just tell you that had I located a better place, and you would never find out about my parent's restaurant."

Judy could see Nick carefully considering Finnick words before finally leaning back in his seat. "You know Finnick; I really can't tell if you're lying to me or not."

Finnick flashed a grin, "I would hope not. After all, I did learn from the best."

Nick chuckled and pulled his plate back while picking up his fork, "I knew it was a mistake when I taught you how to do it. Anyways, I will leave a check for the three hundred K at the bank, since I already promised you that much. If you need more, then I will have to discuss it with Carrots, since it's no longer just my decision."

Finnick frowned, as he looked at the rabbit, "Why would she be involved…" Finnick stopped mid-sentence as for the first time he noticed the ring on the rabbit's finger.

"Wait a minute, are you two engaged?"

Nick shrugged as he continued to eat. "Sort of, we are now mates. It's kind of hard to explain since rabbit relationships are so different than fox relationships."

Finnick sniffed the air, quickly picking up what he had been smelling for a while, but that hadn't registered until now. "Wait, you two have already marked?"

"Of course I marked her, you don't really think I would take the chance of letting some stray buck take her away from me do you? She's mine."

"Nick, you barely know each other."

"I know she makes me happy, and that I love her. Right now, that's enough for me."

Finnick's mouth was open in shock and he had no idea how to respond. He was seriously debating if the rabbit had used some kind of mind control ray or if the actual Nick had been abducted by aliens and replaced with a duplicate.

The smaller fox had known Nick for nearly twenty years, and either of those scenarios seemed more likely than the fox he knew openly expressing his emotions or having gotten engaged and taking a mate after only knowing her for three months. Nick had seemed different the last time they had met, but this was unbelievable.

Finnick's thoughts were interrupted by the next question, "Fin, do you still live up on the hill?"

"Um… Yeah."

"You know if your apartment complex has any openings? We have been having problems finding a place in a nice neighborhood, and for some odd reason I don't know any real-estate agents."

The only thing that Finnick could think about was aliens; it had to be aliens. He had been trying to convince Nick to use some of his money to move out of that crappy apartment and into a better neighborhood for years without success. But Officer Cottontail shows up, and in less than a week Nick wants to move? He had heard the rumors about how insatiable and incredible rabbits were supposed to be in bed, and he had always dismissed them, but now he suspected that they just might be true.

Finnick considered a moment, if Nick really had changed, then it left open a possibility he had been looking for, for almost twenty years. It took him less than a second to make up his mind.

"Actually, I don't think there are any open units in my building, but I do know a great real-estate agent. Let me see if she's available this week."

Judy's eyes followed the small fox as he left and pulled his phone from his pocket. When he was out of sight, she asked, "Nick, are you sure Finnick is living in an apartment somewhere? I got the impression he was living out of his van when I was looking for you last week."

"Oh, that, no, he has a nice place up on the hill that overlooks Savanna Central. Personally, think it's a complete waste of his money. His place is all the way on the other end of Savanna Central so half the time he ends up napping in his van instead of going home if he's going to pull two shifts or if we are going to be working in the afternoon.

As Nick and Judy were finishing their meals, Finnick returned and climbed back into the booth across from them. "Good news, I talked to my real-estate agent, and she's available this afternoon. Her name is Jane, and she will meet you here." Finnick slid a piece of paper across the table.

Nick was relieved. Maybe today wouldn't be a total disaster after all. As he picked up the piece of paper, he asked, "So what species is she?"

"She's a fox of course."

Nick looked briefly at the directions, then pulled out his wallet. "Judy, we are going to have to head out soon if we're going to meet her. According to this, we are supposed to meet in a park up on the hills. I'm not sure where this is, so it may take us a while to find it.

* * *

As Finnick entered the kitchen, he turned and walked up the ramp behind the counter. He stood on his toes and was just able to see out the pass-through window into the restaurant as he watched Nick and Judy getting up from their table.

He looked over as he heard the kitchen door open and saw Sarge enter. "Well, Fin I will take over now. Go home and get some rest."

"Thanks, Sarge." He paused a moment, considering, "I'm sorry about the short notice, but I won't be able to come in for a few days. I suspect it may be better for my health if I get out of the city for a little while."

Sarge raised an eyebrow questioningly at the small fox. Finnick sighed, "Let's just say I would prefer to be well out of the reach of Nick's paws for a few days."

Sarge sighed, "Fin, what have you done now?"

Finnick looked out into restaurant seeing that Nick and Judy had already left, "Nothing that didn't need to be done, although I'm not sure if they're going to see it that way."

* * *

Judy was leaning back on the park bench with her eyes closed simply enjoying the feel of the sun on her face and the stiff breeze running through her fur. It was one of those perfect summer days, and she really wasn't in the mood to look for a new apartment. If she had her way, they would spend the rest of the afternoon just wandering around the park. She opened one eye and smiled as she saw Nick walking back towards her from the vendor's cart as he licked at the snow cone.

Nick took a seat on the bench, then carefully handed the snow cone to Judy, "I think you will like it, while not as good as one of my pawpsicles, it still tastes pretty good." He waited until the cone started moving towards her mouth before leaning back and smiling, "Yeah, there's not that many places you can find cricket flavored snow cones anymore."

The cone's movement stopped before Judy's mouth, and her nose twitched several times as she sniffed at the green cone before taking a tentative lick. She leaned against Nick's shoulder and grinned as the sweet lime flavor hit her taste buds. She took several nibbles before passing the cone back to Nick, "If that's what crickets taste like then I may just have to add them to my diet."

Nick chuckled before taking a small bite before handing the cone back. "Judy, with all of this running around we have been doing, I've been thinking. Maybe we should purchase at least one car."

Nick was surprised when Judy answered a little more tersely than he would have expected, "Nick, I think we can do without a car for now."

"I'm not going to be mad or anything, I'm just curious why don't you want a car? I just thought it would make things easier for you when I'm at the Academy."

"Nick, we have close to eighty thousand dollars in the bank. I thought it was going to take me years to earn that much money. I know that most of the money is yours so if you want to buy a car you can."

"I sense an impending 'but' coming."

She sighed, "But… if we are careful with our money and continue to save for a few more years, we could probably afford to buy a small house in a nice neighborhood. I just think it would be nice to have our own house when we decide to start having kits."

Nick slumped back on the bench, "As the bunny tries to drive the final stake of domestication into her poor mate. Next, you're going to tell me that if we do buy a car, it's going to have to be a minivan instead of a cool sports car."

"Well, now that you mention it…"

"Okay, that's where I'm putting my foot down. We are not getting a minivan." Nick considered a moment, then grinned, "Although if you really insist on a van and saving money, I could probably convince Finnick to sell us his van."

Judy couldn't help laughing, "Please, I can already imagine the looks on the other parent's faces when we drop off Nick Junior for soccer practice in that or better yet when we stop to pick up one of their kits for a play date."

"I will have you know the Finnick assures me that his van is a classic."

"A classic what? Vehicle for stalkers?"

The vulpine couldn't help but chuckle. After a minute of silence, Nick bit his lip. He had wanted to avoid it as long as possible, but Judy's revelation had changed things a bit, "Judy if you want a house, we can kind of already afford one."

"Nick, you already promised that money to Finnick and family is important, so you are not going to back out of that."

"I wasn't planning on it. Even without that money, I still have plenty that we could use for a house if that's what you want."

"Wait a minute, how can you possibly have more money? At two hundred dollars a day that's only seventy-three thousand dollars a year. While I admit that's more than you will make starting as a cop, you shouldn't have been able to save much more than the three hundred thousand given the cost of living in Zootopia."

"Carrots, I never said selling pawpsicles were my only or even my primary source of income. Besides, I told you before I had enough money to start a business if we wanted to. I just didn't specify how big of business it could be."

"So, how much are we talking about?"

Nick tried to answer as evasively as he could, since he didn't want to get into a discussion about it in the middle of a public park, "Um…It's hard to say it changes based on the market. Let's just say there should be plenty to buy a reasonably sized house if that's what you want. Let's see what the reality agent can show us, and we can discuss our finances tonight."

He could see Judy plainly wanted to discuss it now, but after a moment she finally conceded, "Fine, but we are discussing both your finances and the source of those finances as soon as we get home."

Nick was already thinking; I wonder if Finnick would mind if I hide, I mean stay, with him for a couple of days. Nick didn't know how Judy was going to react when she found out the details of their finances and he wasn't looking forward to finding out.

As Nick was thinking of how he was going to go about explaining his finances, he caught a familiar scent on the breeze and froze. "No. No. No."

Judy saw Nick stiffen as a range of emotions quickly played across his face. She could see Nick's muscles were coiled as he looked at her, she didn't know why, but she could tell that she was the only thing preventing the fox from bolting away across the park. Then she heard a female voice coming from behind them, "It's been a while hasn't it Nick?"

Judy turned to see a mature vixen in an expensive business suit. As she looked at the vixen, she could just make out Nick cursing under his breath, "I swear to God, I'm going to hunt down that miserable excuse for a fox, skin him alive, burn his mangy hide, and then piss on the ashes."

Judy turned back to Nick seeing he had closed eyes. After a long pause, Nick finally responded, "Hello, Mother."


	24. Chapter 24

As Jane Wilde walked across the park to meet her son, she was having second thoughts, well actually by now they were four or fifth thoughts. After talking briefly with Fin less than an hour earlier, for the first time in years she had considered that the fates just might finally be smiling at her by providing the perfect opportunity to see her son and maybe reconcile things between them. But now as she approached the meeting location, she was wondering if the fates were playing the same twisted game they had for years, getting her hopes up, only to dash them once again.

As she walked across the grassy field she kept repeating to herself, no matter what he says, no matter what he does, you are not going to get angry. You are not going to mess this up like the last time.

While Jane was quite aware that she had a short temper, she had never had a problem keeping it on a tight leash, except whenever dealing with her son. The issue was that not only had he inherited her temper, but he had a way of getting under her fur by always saying just the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Every time she had tried to reconcile with him in the past the same thing always happened, within minutes they would be arguing about something, usually involving his life choices. Then, before she was even aware of what was happening it was too late, and her son once again stalked out of her life.

She was intentionally approaching the meeting location from behind the park bench they were supposed to meet at, hoping that her son wouldn't notice her until she was close enough that it would be too awkward for him to simply avoid her. She knew from experience that if given half a chance, Nick would simply leave before she even had a chance to talk to him.

Even now she could see her son was sitting on the park bench with all things, a rabbit. She recalled that Fin had mentioned something about a rabbit when they had dinner together the other night, though she had dismissed it at the time, suspecting he had just been pulling her tail. But apparently, he had been telling her the truth, since she could see the rabbit was leaning against her son, and he wasn't making any move to distance himself from the rabbit's physical contact.

She stopped several feet behind the two mammals as she tried to settle down her fears of being rejected once again, while also trying to decide how best to start the conversion. She had gone over what she was going to say to Nick hundreds of times in her mind over the last several years, but now that she was here she couldn't remember any of it.

Before she could decide what to say, she saw her son's head tilt back as he sniffed the air briefly. She watched as he suddenly tensed, leaned forward, then started rapidly looking around. She sighed, knowing that the light breeze was carrying her scent straight to him. She was out of time, and the only thing that came to mind was the obvious one as she moved forward the final several steps and asked hesitantly, "It's been a while hasn't it Nick?"

She tried not to show the hurt she felt when Nick reluctantly replied in an icy dispassionate voice while not even bothering to turn and face her, "Hello, mother."

Jane glanced at the rabbit as she turned to look back at her with a curious expression on her face. She gave the bunny a quick once over, noting that she was cute, which of course meant nothing since she was pretty sure if you looked up the definition of 'rabbit' in the dictionary, cute had to be in it somewhere.

No, the only thing she found notable about this one was the black tips on her ears similar to those of a fox. As she briefly scrutinized them, she couldn't help wondering if the marks were real or if the rabbit was wearing makeup to catch her son's eye. Either way, they had apparently worked, since from where she stood she could see that both Nick's arm and tail were curled possessively around the bunny's waist. The thing she found most shocking though, was that the rabbit was holding and absently fondling the end of her son's tail and that he was permitting it.

Jane sighed in disappointment, like most mammals she was well aware of the numerous rumors regarding rabbit's insatiable carnal appetites. She had hoped that her son was above that kind of thing, but apparently not.

What she found so vexing, was that neither of her sons seemed to be making even the slightest attempt at finding a proper mate. While Fin had an excuse, being one of only a handful of fennec foxes in the city, Nick certainly didn't.

Nick was a good looking, intelligent tod, and that wasn't just from a mother's perspective either, she had seen plenty of vixens take more than a passing interest in him. She had even steered several suitable vixens his way in a vain hope that he would choose one and settle down, but it hadn't happened.

Every time her son was done bedding a vixen, he immediately pushed her out the door and out of his life, before there was any chance of an emotional attachment forming. The sad part was that from what little she could wheedle out of Finnick, Nick had apparently never had a single serious relationship in his life, and now he had apparently moved on to chasing bunnies around his bedroom? Unbelievable…

She refocused her thoughts back on her son when she noticed that both mammals were getting up from the bench. As she walked around the bench, she asked the obvious question, "So, Nick, who's your little friend?" Even as the words left her mouth, she wanted to slap herself as she realized just how condescending both her tone and the words must have sounded. Her fears were quickly realized as she saw the dark look immediately fall across Nick's face while also seeing a frown flash across the bunny's face before it was quickly replaced with a poorly forced smile.

Then it hit her. As the breeze changed direction, it carried the unmistakable scent of her son's mark mixed with that of the bunny's scent to her. She was so startled by it that it took her several seconds before she had recovered enough even to consider examining the rabbit's paw, although she already knew what she would find there. She noticed the low growl at the same time she saw the glitter of the sunlight reflecting off of the diamond. She was startled when she suddenly realized that the growl she was hearing was her own. What was even more distressing was that it took her several seconds to regain enough control to force it to stop.

Her mind was already racing in a dozen different directions at the same time. Everything from how something like this was possible, to whether it was either some kind of elaborate joke, or an attempt by Nick to con the poor bunny into something. But all of those thoughts fell apart with one simple fact, Nick had marked the rabbit standing in front of her as belonging to him, and if they had mated… Jane glanced at the rabbit, seeing her ears had drooped down the sides of her face, though she still had the same forced smile on her damn cute little face. Jane couldn't help but rub at her temples as she thought, of course they have mated. She is a bunny, after all. That's what they do!

The words came out without any thought as she rounded on her son, "What the hell, Nick? You marked a rabbit? What were you thinking?"

Nick's paws immediately went to his hips as he turned on the rabbit. "Judy, you have some serious explaining to do! You distinctly told me when we met that you were one of those exceedingly rare long-eared, short-tailed, silver foxes. I'm very disappointed in you!"

The smug vulpine flashed a grin at his mate as she burst out in laughter and her ears immediately perked up. He didn't even have to look at his mother to know that she was probably casting a withering glare at him. He leaned in and gave Judy a quick kiss, then whispered in her ear, "Okay, I have an exit strategy. It's simple but elegant. I distract her, while you shoot her, then we make a run for it. You're a cop, so you should be able to get away with it. If not, and it goes to court, no married juror will ever convict you for merely shooting your mother-in-law."

Judy rolled her eyes, before answering in her normal voice, "Enough messing around Nick, introduce me to your mother."

She listened as he continued to whisper defensively, "Fine. But I like my plan better. It's far less risky."

Judy crooked an eyebrow and looked up at Nick as he pulled her between himself and his mother as if she were a shield that he was perfectly willing to use to fend off the matronly vixen.

"Mother, this is…my wife, Judy."

Jane's jaw went slack as she tried to process what her son had just said. Then the meaning behind Nick's statement struck her like a slap in the face. She fought to control both the hurt and anger as she responded in a shocked voice, "I know we haven't exactly been on speaking terms for years Nick, but you could have at least invited me to the wedding. You are still my son!"

Judy could see the raw emotions playing out across the vixen's face and responded quickly, "We didn't have a ceremony, although I think Nick may want to have one at some point. We did what is customary for rabbits, and simply registered as mates."

Jane couldn't help growling out, "Well, that may be fine for rabbits, but…"

Nick didn't even let her finish, cutting her off, "I checked mother, it's legal, as far as me, Judy and the Confederation is concerned we are married."

It took a moment for Jane to stammer out "This…this is ridiculous, who ever heard of getting married without a ceremony." She looked at their paws in annoyance, "You're aren't even wearing wedding rings!"

Nick sighed, "Our registering was a little spontaneous. We will pick out a pair of rings when we get around to it."

Jane glared daggers at her son, "Spontaneous? Spontaneous! Nick foxes do not take mates spontaneously!"

Jane closed her eyes and drew in several long, slow breaths trying to regain a semblance of control before opening them again and waving a paw at the two mammals, "So, just how long has this been going on?"

Judy was aware of just how short their relationship had been in regards to fox standards and tried to be a bit evasive with the answer, "Well, we met a little over three months ago."

Jane couldn't help gazing skyward as if for inspiration, "You're telling me that you married a rabbit, of all things, after only dating her for three months? I know I wasn't the best mother in the world, but I'm fairly sure I never dropped you on your head when you were a kit. What the hell Nick, are you insane?"

"I'm perfectly fine mother, and for the record, we didn't date for three months. Technically, we only dated for around three days, though I'm not sure if that's even correct, considering we only had one actual date. Besides you should be happy, I wanted to mark her the next day, but we managed to restrain ourselves for another whole day before we finally did."

Judy just watched as the vixen quivered in rage as she glared at Nick. Judy took the opportunity while his mother's attention was focused solely on him to stomp hard on Nick's foot and send a glare up at the fox. What the hell was Nick doing? She hadn't been sure before, but she was now. Everything Nick had said since the beginning of the conversion had been a series of deliberate attempts on his part to bait his mother. Not only that, but he had intentionally undermined each attempt that Judy had made to placate the vixen, and she suspected the vixen wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

Nick merely glanced down at Judy briefly before switching his gaze back to his mother.

It took several moments before the vixen finally replied, "And where the hell was Finnick when all of this was going on? Your brother is supposed to be keeping you out of trouble!"

"Finnick had nothing to do with it, although that sawed-off excuse for a fox is going to regret setting us up when I finally get my paws on him. Besides, he's not my…"

Jane interrupted her son before he could finish the statement. The words slipping out before she even realized what she was saying, "Nick, don't you dare, Fin has been far more of a son to me than you have the past twenty years, and he would never be foolish enough to do something like this!"

Jane winced, her anger draining away, as she instantly regretted what she had just said. Then she saw it, as Nick closed up, his face went blank before he turned and started to walk away, pulling the rabbit with him, "You're right, mother. He has been, and I think we're done here. It's been nice talking to you. Maybe we can do it again in another five or ten years."

"Nick, please… I didn't mean it!"

Judy didn't know what the hell was going on, but as she quickly moved next to Nick, she could see the stray tear running down the side of his muzzle and quickly wrapped an arm around him. She glanced back confirming what she could already hear. Nick's mother was slumped over on the bench, her face buried in her paws crying. "Nick, your mother's crying. We need to go back and fix this."

"Judy, this is one of those things that just can't be fixed. I made my choices a long time ago. Now, I just have to live with them."

"Nick, that's a total cop-out, and you know it! People can change. You have changed."

Nick sighed, "Judy, that's not the issue…"

Judy quickly moved in front of the fox, digging in her heels and forcing him to stop. She looked at him her eyes full of determination, "Then what is the issue?"

Nick hesitated several seconds before closing his eyes and finally whispering out, "I'm afraid..."

Judy was surprised by the answer. From how the conversion had been going she had suspected Nick had been angry with his mother about how she had initially reacted to them being mates. She quickly tried to lighten the mood as she pulled Nick down into a hug, "Come on, where's my big brave fox that has risked his life multiple times to save mine?"

Nick was grateful that with Judy's head next to his so that he didn't have to meet her eyes, "That was different, there wasn't any thought involved, I just did what I had to do." He paused, "I have been thinking about this every day for twenty years, and I just can't do it…"

"Just tell me why. I won't judge."

"Yes, you will. You won't be able to help yourself."

Judy could hear an unexpected edge of fear in her husband's voice this time. "Judy, I did things…I did a lot of things…I wasn't always just running little scams and selling pawpsicles."

"You think I don't know that? The Mayor wouldn't have even mentioned the statutes of limitations having had run out a long time ago if you had never committed any crimes."

Nick wanted to leave, to forget that today had ever happened, but Judy just continued to hold him, "Do I have to drag you home and join you in a nice hot bath again, to get it out of you?"

Judy's grin widened as she heard Nick chuckle. The fox pulled back and gave her a quick kiss. This time when he replied there wasn't a trace of fear in his voice, "That would certainly help. I enjoy our baths together, though I can think of other things I would much rather be doing with my sexy new wife in the tub other than discussing my sordid past."

Judy couldn't help herself and reached up and rubbed at his muzzle, "Nick, I don't have to be a therapist to see that this has probably been eating you up inside for a long time. I'm not going to try and force it out of you. Everyone has secrets and things they would rather forget. If you don't want to tell me, then that's alright. It's just that I hate seeing you like this. I want to help you if I can, but I don't know how when I don't even know what the problem is."

Judy just continued looking into his eyes as she watched him mull it over until he eventually asked, "Judy, do you remember what I told you on the sky tram about when I was a kit?"

She nodded, "I remember."

Nick groaned, "Well, back then we had already been struggling to make ends meet and then we wasted money we really didn't have on that stupid uniform. Afterwards, I was determined to pay my mother back for it. At the time, my mother worked nights while I went to school during the day. With the overtime she was forced to work, we only saw each other briefly except on Sundays. So, I went looking for a job, but no one was willing to hire a fox kit when there were so many adults in the neighborhood that couldn't find work."

Judy watched as Nick paused a moment as a look of embarrassment came over his face, before he continued in a quiet voice, "So soon after the muzzling incident, after school, I started begging in the streets for money."

Nick turned away refusing to meet her eyes as he continued, "At the time, I made a feeble attempt to convince myself that I was just conning other mammals so I could pay my mother back for the uniform. But it wasn't true. We desperately needed every dollar I could lay my paws on. So...for close to two years, I spent every minute I could out on the streets begging for spare change."

Nick cleared his throat then began speaking regularly again, though he still couldn't meet his mate's eyes, "I quickly discovered that there's a bit of an art to it, I found that with the right words, expressions and location, on a good day I could make anywhere between five to ten dollars an hour. I also found out the hard way, that doing it wrong could result in a back paw to the muzzle or far worse."

Judy's eyes were wide has she felt the shudder ripple through her husband's body. She suddenly realized that her mouth was gaping open and quickly closed it before Nick could notice it. What Nick had just revealed to her was so far from what she had been expecting that she had no idea how to even respond to it.

She quickly recovered and refocused on what her mate was saying, "Because of school and the time required to get to and from the best locations, there was always a limit to just how much money I could earn, though most weeks I was able to slip an extra forty or fifty bucks into the box my mother kept our money in without her realizing it. It helped to keep food on the table, although there never seemed to be quite enough."

Nick stole a quick look at his mate and could see the troubled look in her eyes. He quickly looked away again, as he thought that at least she didn't have the look of disgust or pity on her face. Above all else, that was what he had been afraid he would find there.

He took in a slow breath, "Around the time I turned twelve, the place my mother worked at started limiting her hours. We had a couple of close calls with bills, and we were almost evicted since we couldn't afford to pay the rent on time. After the second time, I decided I needed to do something to get more money. Not just allow us to pay the rent on time, but enough so that we could move to a safer neighborhood."

Judy was surprised by the note of conviction that suddenly came to Nick's voice, "So, I had some of the more unsavory teens in the area teach me how to shoplift and pickpockets. I soon discovered that I had a knack for it."

Nick smiled wanly, "Most pickpockets get caught because they get nervous, either they hesitate, their paw shakes, or they simply can't help but act suspiciously. But, if you can keep calm and always have a backup plan even if you get caught with your paw in someone else's pocket, you can usually create an opportunity that will allow you to escape."

Nick cleared his throat uncomfortably, "You would be surprised at just how quickly a male mammal will let go of a kit that is screaming and crying at the top of their lungs for him not to touch them between their legs again."

Judy looked shocked, "Nick, you didn't!"

Nick couldn't help but chuckle, "Of course I did, and on more than one occasion. It allowed me to escape instead of ending up in Juvie Hall."

For the first time since starting, Nick finally met her eyes, "Anyways, while lifting wallets was providing more money, we were still struggling. We had accrued a ton of debt over the years and could never realistically hope to pay it off with what my mother was making. At the time, we were struggling just to make the interest payments. It was right around then that I found Finnick. You can't tell it now, but when I found him, he was so utterly broken, that my mother and I never even considered not taking him in."

Nick groaned and tilted his head back as he ran a paw through his head fur, "So, suddenly we had an extra mouth to feed. I started taking larger, and larger risks until I was suddenly noticed. I met and began working with a pair of older foxes. I was small enough that I could fit through places that they couldn't. It allowed me to gain access to stores and warehouses, and then open a door for them. That's when the real money started to come in."

He glanced quickly and nervously at the bunny not sure how she was going to react to this confession, but when she just looked back with interest her eyes and didn't seem angry or judgmental, he relaxed a little. "For a while, I was able to hide what I was doing from my mom. I told her I was running errands around the neighborhood after school. I'm not sure if she believed me or not, but she accepted the extra money, and it helped us to get by. Then I had a large score. In a single night, I made more money than my mother made in a year. I used most of it to pay off our debt."

Judy watched as Nick momentarily turned and glanced back at the vixen still sitting on the bench a mixture of resignation and sorrow in his voice, "I was a pretty dumb fox at the time since I thought my mother would be pleased. After all, without that debt hanging over our heads and with the remaining money, we could finally get out of the neighborhood and move someplace safer."

Nick looked dejectedly back at Judy, "As you can probably guess when my mother found out, she was anything but pleased. We had a long drawn out argument which ended with an ultimatum, either to give up my life of crime or I leave." Nick paused several seconds, and Judy could hear the regret in his voice, "I was young, confused, angry but mostly, I was just tired of living in a constant state of fear."

Without even thinking about it, Judy pulled him back in a tight hug trying to provide what support she could as he continued in a somber tone, "I was always afraid back then. Afraid that some drug addict would drag Fin or me into an alley on the way home from school in hopes our clothes and books might be enough to pay for their next fix, that one of us would vanish like had happened to other kits from the neighborhood."

Nick paused a moment, closing his eyes, "But my biggest fear was that someone from either the ZPD or the neighborhood would show up to tell me that my mother had either been raped or killed on her way to or from work."

As Judy continued to hug her fox tightly, she felt him shudder again, knowing that for the moment he was once again reliving that part of his life.

After a little while, he continued in a quiet voice, "I can remember feeling so hurt. I had been doing what I thought I had to, to protect my family and to get us out of that neighborhood and our situation. In the end, I just couldn't go back to worrying if today was the day we were going to be kicked out of our apartment because we couldn't pay the rent. Sitting around in the dark because we couldn't afford to pay the electric bill or eating out of dumpsters when Finnick or I were hungry, and there wasn't enough food at home."

"I was only twelve, and I had already been hurt so many times emotionally and physically that it I couldn't give up on the only solution I could see that could solve our problems. So, I went to my room collected some clothes, then climbed out the window and went down the fire escape."

"Even back then, I knew my mother hadn't meant it, that she was just worried I would end up either dead or in prison and that her ultimatum was merely an attempt to scare me out of what I had been doing, but I didn't care."

Nick closed his eyes and leaned into Judy's paw as she started to gently rub his muzzle before continuing, "After that, I still hung out with Finnick, but I completely avoided my mother. Fin kept me up to date on what was happening at home, and I suspect he did the same for her."

"Anyway when I had run off, I had left all of the remaining money at the apartment on the table. So about a week later Finnick told me that he and mom had moved to a larger, nicer place in a better neighborhood. He had brought a note from her in which she apologized and said she hadn't meant what she had said and that she wanted me to come back home. I was still feeling fairly hurt, so I ended up refusing."

"I suspect she figured I would come home eventually. So every day when I saw Finnick he would always have either a note or message from her. After a little while we had a tentative agreement that if I stayed in school, she would give me some space. After a couple of weeks living on the streets, I have to admit I was seriously considering going home. It had been getting colder at night, and the place I had been crashing at didn't have any heat. I suspect that if she had just left things alone, I most likely would have ended up back home within another week or two."

Judy wiped a tear from her eye, "So, what did she do?"

Nick looked into Judy's eyes a moment wiping a stray tear of his own, "I'm not sure how it is with rabbits, but in Zootopia foxes have a tendency to look out for each other and to stick together, even if they aren't family. I know it's odd because it's actually against our nature to do so since we are extremely territorial. But we have learned to do it to survive in a city where every other species seems to be against us."

Judy felt Nick's body tense as he said, "My partners and I were just about to liberate several items from a jewelry store when the ZPD showed up. They arrested my partners for several outstanding warrants, and they dragged me back home."

Judy could see the flash of anger in Nick's eyes, "When I got there I learned the truth. While mother was talking to the ZPD officers I found Finnick hiding in his bedroom. **After a little persuasion,** I quickly learned that my mother had forced where I was going to be and what I was going to be doing out of him, and that she had called the cops on me!"

Judy lifted Nick's head so she could look into his eyes, "Nick, I'm sure she was just worried about you!"

Nick growled back, "Do you think I don't know that! But it doesn't change the fact that she betrayed me. Her call got my two partners arrested. If the ZPD had shown up just 5 minutes later, I have no doubt that I would have ended up in Juvie Hall until I was eighteen. Back then the ZPD made no pretenses about hating and blaming foxes for everything wrong with the city. To them, the only good fox was a locked up fox."

Nick sighed and closed his eyes, "So, while my mother was still busy thanking the ZPD officers for bringing me home. I climbed out Finnick's bedroom window, then down a spout. I swore to myself that day that I wasn't going to allow anyone to get that close and betray me again."

They were both silent for several minutes, before Nick finally said, "From then on, I worked hard to convince myself that I didn't need anyone. That every mammal I met was simply a potential mark, a means for me to get what I wanted."

"Judy, I have only talked to my mother less than a dozen times over that past twenty years, and every time I have intentionally pushed her away. I have even gone so far as only to allow Finnick to hang out and work with me under the condition that he never mentions our mother to me. I have intentionally hurt her for such a long time just to try and prevent myself from being hurt again. How can I possibly face her?"

Judy just held the now weeping fox and ignored the odd looks other mammals sent their way as they walked past on their way through the park. She was momentarily at a loss for words. She had been horrified by everything that Nick had just told her.

When she had been growing up, she had often considered how unfair her life had seemed being stuck having to spend all of her time caring for her siblings, but now she realized just how good she had had it. While she had never considered her family wealthy, there had always been plenty of food, a warm, safe place to live, and a loving family. She had promised not to judge him and she knew she couldn't, she had no right. "Nick, you're a good mammal. It doesn't matter what you did in the past, what's important is who you are now."

She could hear the edge of desperation in Nick's voice, "So, you're not going to leave me?"

"Of course not. Nick, your past doesn't matter to me, only our future together. I love you, you dumb fox," as she pulled him into a quick kiss.

"I don't deserve you."

Judy smirked, "That's for me to decide, and I chose you. After all, I have never met anyone that can give foot rubs as well as you can."

Judy couldn't help but laugh as the fox wiped the tears from his cheeks and growled playfully, "Wait a minute, who the hell has been giving you foot rubs other than me? I want names!"

Judy glanced behind Nick seeing that his mother was still sitting on the bench now watching them, "Nick, I think you need to talk to her. But the choice is yours. I will support whatever you want to do. If you choose to talk and want to leave at any time, then we will leave."

"Judy, what am I supposed to say? Hi Mom, I know that I've been a selfish bastard to you the past twenty years and I regret making your life a living hell. But given all that it is a lovely day today, isn't it?"

Judy smiled and rubbed at his wet cheeks, "Well, I wouldn't put it quite that way, but maybe you could start with the lovely day part and see what happens. God knows you're a master at talking to people."

"Judy, I know how to manipulate people, it's not the same thing."

"Well, then maybe just listen. I will have a chat with her, and you can join in when you feel comfortable."

"Judy you may not be aware of it, but I get the slight impression she doesn't like you." He didn't meet her eyes, "I kind of ensured that she doesn't."

Judy chuckled, "I'm not sure. You may be right about that, but I just don't care. You are my husband, and she is just going to have to learn to deal with it. So, are we going to do this or not?"

After a little while, the fox grudgingly nodded, "Okay, fine. But we leave if I say so."

"Alright," Judy pointed in the direction they had entered the park from, "I saw a restroom back that way. Why don't you go and get cleaned up? In the meantime, I will have a little chat with the mother-in-law, and then you can join us."

He gave her a quick kiss, "Okay, I'll be back shortly."

Judy sighed, "Take your time, I have a feeling that I'm going to have to explain several things to her, whether she likes them or not."

She paused for a moment, considering, then stopped the fox before he could leave, "Nick, you haven't been trying to manipulate me have you?"

Nick grinned, "Oh, I have been much more than trying, Carrots. I have been using you to help me pull off the greatest con of my career for the past week."

He leaned in and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "You see with your help, in less than a week, I managed to con a bunny into falling in love with and marrying a fox, all while allowing the bunny to believe that it was all her idea." Before Judy could fully digest what he had said, he quickly kissed her between the ears and hurried away.

"…Hey! ...Nick, get your fuzzy butt back here!"

She couldn't help but laugh as the fox turned back briefly and shrugged while flashing her that toothy smile she loved so much, "You asked, Honey Bun," he chuckled as he turned and walked away.

As she watched him leave all she could think was that God, she loved that insufferable, damn fox.

* * *

It had taken Jane a while before she had been able to regain a semblance of self-control. She hated losing control in public and had just decided it would be best to return to her car, where she could be alone when she noticed to her surprise that both her son and the rabbit were standing half a block away. She had assumed that they had left a long time ago. As she watched the two mammals, she felt a sudden flash of jealousy as she saw the bunny comforting her son while the two mammals clung to each other. That was something she had longed to be able to do for Nick for the last twenty years.

As she looked on, she saw them eventually separate while the rabbit gesture several times in her direction as she continued to talk with her son. It was then that she noticed it. When the rabbit raised her arm, gesturing again, her shirt lifted enough that she could see the holstered gun. She shifted her gaze back to her son and now that she was looking for it, she could make out the outline of something under his shirt in the small of his back.

While she had been aware that both Fin and Nick had worked as bodyguards for a short time she knew that neither one hadn't done it for years. Just what the heck had Nick gotten the rabbit mixed up in that they both felt the need to walk about armed in a public park?

She was still debating this latest twist when the movement caught her eye. Jane's heart sank as she watched as Nick turned and walked away. She had been holding out a sliver of hope that he might come back.

The matron sighed and closed her eyes, feeling that she had failed again, just like the all of the other times. When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to see the rabbit walking over towards her. She looked curiously at the approaching rabbit. The bunny's entire demeanor seemed to have completely changed from before. As she saw the look on the rabbit's face, she was starting to suspect that, what was her name again? Judy? That Judy may not be the soft, timid, little bunny, she had first assumed.

Before Jane even had a chance to say anything, the rabbit took charge.

"Look, I know you don't approve of me, and I really couldn't care less. But I want to make several things clear. Nick is MINE! He's my husband, and he WILL be the father of my kits. If I ever get even the slightest hint that you are working against us being together, I will ensure that you will never have to deal with either of us again. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Jane was more than a little startled by the rabbit. She was exuding far more aggression and confidence than she would have ever expected from a smaller prey mammal.

The taller vulpine considered a moment before answering, "Perfectly. Now, do I get to say anything? Or is this just going to be a one-way conversation?" Jane watched as the bunny appeared to mull it over a bit before grudging indicating with a paw to continue.

"I won't lie and say I'm happy with you two being mates, relationships are hard enough when both partners are members of the same species, all I can see are all the potential pitfalls that can occur between you two. What has me so pissed off though, is that you two chose to become mates so quickly and without any apparent thought. I still can't figure out what the hell was going on in Nick's skull when he thought this was a good idea. Normally, my son is meticulous. He plans for everything. Then he has a backup plan, and a backup plan for the backup plan."

"I don't know what you did to convince Nick to do this, but I don't like it. I would suspect that he had gotten you pregnant if it wasn't the wrong season and that it's far too soon for you to know if he had!"

Jane closed her eyes a moment, realizing that her voice and been continually growing louder and that she had nearly been yelling at the rabbit. She took a long, deep breath, trying to calm down before continuing, "Look, you may be a great doe, you may even be the perfect match for my son. But with the little amount of time you have been together, there is no way you can guarantee that things will work out long term."

"Judy, there are good reasons foxes wait so long before they mark and take a mate. You may love him now, but what about in a year, or 10, or 50? I doubt Nick has even mentioned it, but once he marked you and then mated with you, he started to imprint on you. While he may not have fully imprinted yet, it's probably already too late to stop it."

"You're not a fox, so you can't have any idea just what that means. Foxes only imprint once in their lives, and it is a deep bonding. It's so deep that other mammals generally can't understand it. So, if in a year or two you find that having a fox as your mate is too difficult, and decide to leave him for some handsome buck, it's not just going to hurt him, it will destroy him."

"Now, I'm not just talking about a fox pining away with a broken heart that he will get over given time. What I'm saying is that if by some miracle, Fin and I can somehow manage to convince him not to eat a bullet, he will most likely never take another mate and he will end up spending the rest of his life alone!"

Judy sighed, "To tell you the truth, I was assuming something like that. And no, you don't have to worry about me leaving him. While we don't call it imprinting, there is something similar between rabbits. While it doesn't sound quite the same as with foxes, once we mark with our mate, we emotionally bond with them. While divorces can happen between rabbits if kits aren't involved, it's rare, and once kits are involved, divorces just don't happen."

Jane snorted, "Don't try to placate me, Judy. I have the Discovery channel, I have heard all about how rabbits are always jumping in and out of bed with other rabbits, even once they are married."

Judy groaned, "Okay, I admit it, affairs do happen. Probably far more frequently for rabbits than they should."

She blushed not wanting to discuss it with someone outside of her species, "Sex… is very important for rabbits and by our nature we are curious."

Judy's ears turned an even darker shade of red, "But, that does not mean that all rabbits have affairs, and when they do occur, they are only about sex."

Her black-tipped ears were on fire now as she confessed, "Nick was my first lover, and I have no desire to be with any other male. Besides, I know perfectly well that affairs also occur between married foxes, so don't you dare try to imply that I will mess around on Nick, simply because I'm a rabbit! Or do you want me to start going over all of the stereotypical notions other species have about foxes and make those assumptions about you!"

Judy watched as the matronly fox seemed to collapse in on herself. "Fine, it's a moot point anyways. What's done is done, and I have no choice but to accept it. There is nothing I can do now that wouldn't end up hurting my son. All I can do is pray that your relationship does work out and be ready to try and pick up the pieces if it doesn't."

Neither mammal said anything for several minutes as they both silently considered the situation. Eventually, Jane sighed and looked at the rabbit, "So, is that all you wanted to say?"

Judy shook her head and pulled out her phone, "No, I was just making sure you were clear on the ground rules. Now, since I'm fairly sure Nick probably doesn't have it, what's your phone number?"

Jane was surprised but gave Judy her number anyway. "Why do you want it?"

"You are family now. You deserve to know what's happening in our lives, and I'm going to want to learn more about both you and Finnick."

Judy could see the vixen still looked resigned when she replied, "Nick, may not see it that way."

"I will deal with Nick. He still has a lot of trust issues, but we are working them out them together. Right now his biggest problem isn't with you, but with himself."

"Now, he will be back shortly and when he gets here, let's concentrate on you two getting to know one another again while trying to keep all of our tempers in check. I will do what I can to keep Nick from intentionally baiting you again."

Jane had been nodding her head, and was starting to feel an ember of hope, when Judy's last statement registered, "Wait, he what?"

Judy sighed, "What do you think he has been doing every time he sees you? He's afraid of getting hurt again, so he has been manipulating you so that he has an excuse not to have to deal you. Why do you think that every conversion you have with him always ends in a fight? Anyways, we're are not going to let that happen again, now are we?"

Jane sat with her mouth gaping open as she ran through not just their last conversion, but all the previous ones they had had over the years. She had never once considered that Nick had been intentionally trying to sabotage them. She had always thought it had been her fault. That for some reason something deep inside her had been preventing them from reconnecting.

"Why would he do that? Does he still resent me for kicking him out? I never meant for that to happen, I never thought he would leave… It broke my heart when I found out he had left and I did everything I could think of to get him to come home even some things I've never forgiven myself for, despite thinking they were for the best at the time."

"I think that is one of the things you will need to discuss with him. But, I will say that he doesn't blame you for it. Though I am fairly sure he feels that he abandoned you when you needed him."

"That's ridiculous; he never did that!"

"Whether or not you feel that way, he does, and I suspect it has been tearing him apart for the last twenty years." Judy sighed, "I just wished we had an excuse to meet with you several times over the next couple weeks. There's no way you two can work things out in a single meeting, and it was hard enough getting him to agree come back today. It will be even more difficult to get him to agree to get together again."

For the first time, Judy heard her mother-in-law laugh, "Well, Fin did say you two were looking for a place to live, and I can certainly help you there. It should also provide a good excuse for us to talk about things other than our past. That is if you can convince Nick to agree to it."

* * *

As Nick walked towards the park bench, he felt a shiver of apprehension pass through him. Both Judy and his mother were sitting close and chatting amiably together. There wasn't the slightest sign of distress or anger between the two females as they chatted as if they were two long lost friends finally reunited. In his mind, he thought that there was no way this could be a good thing for him.

As he reached the bench, his body involuntarily tensed as both females looked up at him with smiles on their faces. Judy's smile widened as she caught Nick's eyes, "Good news, Nick! Your mother has agreed to help us find a new place to live. Why didn't you mention that she has her own real estate company?"

All Nick could think was, 'Oh, crap,' as he felt a wave of panic pass through him as he already suspected what both of the females were up to.

Judy saw the edge of panic in his eyes and quickly crossed over to him. She pulled him down and gave him a quick kiss, then whispered to him, "It's alright Nick, I will be with you the whole time, and remember if you feel the need to leave, then just tell me and we will leave. Okay?"

Nick just nodded. Judy took his paw, then guided him to the bench before climbing into his lap.

Nick held her tightly, drawing in her scent and allowing its now familiar smell to help calm his nerves. He looked over at his mother as she clapped her paws together, "So tell me, what are the two of you looking for in your new place?"


	25. Chapter 25

Chief Bogo was rubbing his temples as he waited for the Tygerol to kick in. If he had known that his job would be as stressful as it had been for the last four months, he would have never accepted the damn promotion. Every day had been a nightmare with the ZPD constantly lurching from one major crisis after another. And then there was the recent shooting at the headquarters building. Ever since, at least one member of the city council had been on the news every day blaming everyone but themselves. Unfortunately for him, their favorite scapegoat always seemed to be the ZPD. Frankly, he was astonished that he hadn't already been relieved of his duty, although he secretly suspected it was probably because they were having problems finding anyone else dumb enough to accept his position.

He looked again at the list of names on his desk. It consisted of all the officers that had either quit or just stopped showing up for work over the last three months. While he had been expecting tensions in the city to start to abate after the capture of Bellwether, it just hadn't happened. With the majority of the mammals in the city being prey, most predators still weren't convinced that former Mayor Bellwether would get what she deserved.

Then there was the whole mess involving all the predators that had been affected by the Night Howler toxin. Many prey groups refused to accept that the predators that went savage were also victims and were demanding that they prosecuted for assaulting the mammals that they attacked. Which in turn was resulting in protests from both predator and prey groups.

He glanced back at the list. He hated to beg, but in this case, there was no choice. He was growing desperate for personnel. He had already had to reduce the number of patrols for the second time in the past month, and he would soon have to do it again. He just couldn't expect his officers to continually work the number of hours he was demanding of them without accidents happening or without more officers leaving the force.

Compounding the issue was that over the last three months, most of the predator candidates enrolled at the Academy had become disillusioned with all of the constant protests against predators, and had dropped out. While prey may outnumber predators by ten to one in the city, the ZPD had always had far more predator officers then prey. The aggressive traits required to make a good officer were just much more common in predator species. The result was that there were far fewer recruits to pull from, and based on the number of mammals currently in training, and that had been accepted into the next class, it didn't look like that trend would change anytime soon.

As he reached for the phone, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. He paused, thankful for the excuse to put off making the calls even if just for a few more minutes. He slipped the list into his desk before calling out, "Enter."

He tried not to smile when the lynx cautiously entered. While he was supposed to be above the office rumors, he had been more than a little curious if the current one was true. As Becky approached his desk, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent intermingled with that of the lynx, and he couldn't help but smile. So apparently the rumors were true, and in his opinion, it was about damn time. He didn't know what had been holding the wolf back for so long, but it would take a blind mammal not to see there was something between the two. He had been tempted on more than one occasion over the past six months to slip a book on mammal mating practices into the wolf's desk. One with small words and big pictures since the wolf had apparently forgotten how it was done.

Becky's voice quickly pulled Bogo back from his musings, "Chief, I have a problem I'm hoping you help me with."

"Sure, what's the issue, Becky?"

"I need to update two personnel records, but the system says they have both been locked by you."

The smile immediately fell from Bogo's face. He had only locked out two records, and with good reason. In Hopps' case, it was because with her name constantly being mentioned in the news, he couldn't allow any curious mammals at the ZPD sneaking a peek at her record or reports. They contained a lot of sensitive information regarding the Night Howler case, and he had no intention of allowing any of it to leak to the press and possibly compromise the case against former mayor Bellwether.

No, what concerned him was how anyone had found out that Mr. Wilde's record even existed let alone that it was locked. As far as he could tell, only six mammals knew Mr. Wilde was a city employee, and one of them just happened to be sleeping with the lynx standing in front of him. If Wolford had let it slip, he would have that damn wolf issuing parking tickets for the rest of his miserable life!

He tried to sound casual as he replied, "What changes do you need to make?"

Becky merely handed him a small stack of documents she had been holding.

Bogo flipped through the papers for a moment before returning his gaze to Becky. "Okay, assume for a moment that I don't work for the Mammal Resources department. What exactly are these?"

Becky smiled, "Don't be too hard on yourself Chief. I had to look up what they meant myself since we don't have many rabbits that work for the ZPD. From what I can tell, those are the rabbit equivalent of both a wedding certificate and a prenuptial contract all rolled into one. So as of two days ago, Judy Hopps and …" she reached out and took the documents back flipping them "Nicholas Wilde are now married."

Bogo couldn't help rubbing his temples again, as he felt the headache that had been dissipating, suddenly returned in full force, "Of course they are. After all, why would anyone in this damn City possibly try to make my any life easier?"

"Sir?"

Bogo waved a hoof, "Nothing. You can use my computer to make the changes. But I want to be clear on one thing, nothing you see in those records leaves this room, or it won't just be your job on the line. Understand?"

"Uh… Yes, sir." Becky was confused not sure at all, but merely deciding it would be easier just to agree with the massive mammal.

Bogo logged into his computer, unlocked the records, then got out of his chair. Becky climbed into the chair and struggled a bit as she dealt with the oversized desk and computer. As Becky started to update the records, the water buffalo sat down in one of the guest chairs. As he settled back, he was already trying to determine the ramifications of this latest twist. He would, of course, have to notify the Mayor as soon as Becky left. The Mayor had given him standing orders that she was to be informed immediately with anything regard either the fox or the rabbit.

He wasn't sure exactly what the Mayor was planning, but it didn't take a genius to see that Hopps and Wilde were a part of those plans. He wondered idly if this news would affect those plans or not. While having someone as powerful as the Mayor of Zootopia take an active interest their careers could be a great benefit it could also be a great risk. If those two weren't constantly on their toes, it could just as easily result in disaster for them.

He considered that there was now no question of them having a relationship. He wondered idly what, if anything, he should or even could do about it. There were good reasons why the ZPD fraternization rules were in place, and he happened to agree with them.

Unfortunately, the Mayor had been quite clear that unless a problem occurred that affected their performance, they were going to be partners once Mr. Wilde graduated from the Academy. Bogo sighed, knowing that he would need to find the time to meet with them and lay down some ground rules as to how they would have to behave while on duty.

Bogo's thoughts were interrupted as he heard Becky's gasp, "Oh my God, it's him."

Bogo eyes closed as he thought that Mr. Wilde's identity and involvement in the Night Howler case was rapidly becoming one of the worst kept secrets in Zootopia.

Now he had to yet another mammal he had to explain why it was important that his identity shouldn't be revealed at this time. He groaned as he wondered just how much longer they would be able to keep the vulpine's involvement in the cases off of the evening news.

* * *

Nick shifted uncomfortably on the park bench. He was sitting with his wife nestled in his lap, and while this would normally be quite reassuring, the presence of the matronly vixen sitting beside them was anything but.

He listened as his mother clapped her paws together and asked, "So tell me, what are the two of you looking for in your new place?"

As he glanced down, he could see his wife looking hopefully up at him. Ever since the bunny had revealed that his mother apparently really was a realty agent, he had known exactly what the two mammals were up too.

Well, actually three mammals. He definitely wasn't going to forget Finnick's involvement in what rapidly appeared to be a conspiracy aimed at getting him and his mother back together. He couldn't help the malicious grin that briefly slipped across his lips as he considered what Fin was going to look like duct taped upside down to the nearest wall when Nick finally got his paws on him. Or better yet, just how much fur the little fox was going to lose when someone eventually got around to removing the duct tape. They would probably need to use a razor to help remove it, and accidents with razors do happen.

The grin vanished as he refocused on his wife. He could now see the concern in her eyes, knowing that she must be wondering what he had been thinking. He was tempted to tell her it wasn't going to work and that they were leaving. To make one final attempt to shore up at least a few of the internal barriers he had erected so long ago to protect himself from the frequently harsh world and the situations he had found himself in. But, the truth was that ever since he had allowed Judy behind those barriers, he had found it impossible to prevent others from joining her there, and he couldn't deny that had missed his mother so much over the years.

He sighed and finally responded to his mother, "I'm not sure if Carrots will agree, but for now I think we are simply looking for a nice apartment in a safe neighborhood."

"I will be leaving to get training for a new job in a few weeks, and I want us to move into the new place as soon as possible. Preferably in the next couple of days. I want to have as much time as I can to help get the apartment set up before I leave, so she doesn't have to deal with everything on her own." Judy leaned back, snuggling against him, and he couldn't resist briefly rubbing each cheek once over the top of her head refreshing his mark.

Judy grinned up at him, then reached up to rub her paw along his muzzle, "I'm alright with that, but if possible, I would like it to either be close to downtown or have a quick train or bus route to there."

Nick shook his head, "While that would be great, we will buy you a car if necessary." Nick considered the matter briefly, "Actually, the more I think about it, we are probably going to buy one anyway. I don't like the idea of you riding on a train or bus late at night by yourself."

As Jane looked at her son and his mate, half-a-dozen questions sprung to mind from their short exchange that she wanted to know the answers to. She felt like growling in frustration, but decided to ask the most pertinent one now and leave the rest for later. "So, I take it you work downtown. What do you do for a living Judy?"

"Actually, I'm a…" She couldn't finish due to the large finger that was suddenly pressed against her lips.

"Carrots, I think we need to have a private conversation…Now!"

* * *

Once they were out of earshot from his mother Nick could see the concern on his wife's face, "Nick, is this because you want to leave?"

The fox shook his head, "No, I just don't want you telling my mother that you're a cop. She also doesn't know your last name, and I want to keep it that way."

"Why? She's family. She has the right to know."

"No, she doesn't. I barely know her anymore. But I do know she betrayed me in the past. I can't think of any reason why we should trust her with that information. What if she starts telling everyone who her son has married? You know perfectly well that your fellow cops have been telling everyone that will listen that a fox was involved with the cases. It wouldn't be hard for people to put the pieces together. "

Judy crossed her arms as her right foot tapped rapidly, "So, what? What if they do? I have never liked hiding your involvement. Nick, I may have agreed not to change my last name for the moment, but there is no way in hell I'm going to hide our marriage! You are mine, Nicholas Wilde, and I want everyone to know that!"

The bunny took several calming breaths, "Look, we still have that document from the Mayor ensuring your acceptance into the Academy, and it's not like she and Bogo haven't been taking plenty of risks revealing your involvement by having us hunt down those moles at the ZPD. Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't all come out already considering the incident at the headquarters building."

Nick sighed, "Carrots, don't put too much faith in that document. The Mayor is a lawyer. I'm sure there are at least a dozen ways they can get out of that agreement if it suits her."

Judy considered her husband's eyes and could see that he was wavering. She reached up and pulled him down gazing into his eyes, "Nick, your mother wouldn't be trying to get back together with you after all of these years if she didn't still love you. I know you don't want to hear it, but your mother just did what she thought she had to do."

When her husband still didn't look convinced, she took out the big guns. "Are you seriously going to tell me that if a kit of ours ended up living out on the streets and was dealing with all the terrible things that you did, that you wouldn't do whatever you felt necessary to get them safely back home? Would you really stop and think of the possible consequences, or would you simply act and worry about them later?"

She watched as her husband closed his eyes mulling it over until eventually the vulpine groaned and opened his eyes, the hint of a smile playing on his lips, "You know you're not playing fair, don't you? You're a bunny. You're not supposed to counter years of raw emotions with cold logic. If you keep doing that you're going to make me feel worse than I already do for holding a grudge against my mother all these years."

Judy pulled her husband into a quick kiss, "That's why we got married so that we can knock some sense into each other when we need it. Besides, think of it this way, this will be the perfect opportunity for both of you to start regaining some trust in each other."

* * *

Jane looked on as the two mammals argued about something. As the argument continued, she kept going through their conversation trying to figure out what she might have said that would have led to this, but couldn't think of anything. All she had asked was what Judy's job was? Then she remembered the guns, and she felt a chill travel down her spine as she wondered again just what her son had gotten the bunny involved in.

She watched as the two finally walked back. She noticed that neither chose to sit down this time.

Nick cleared his throat, "Mother, Judy and I…" He looked at his mate, hoping for a little help but growled lightly in annoyance as she merely smirked at his difficulty.

He closed his eyes a moment, "Mother, I don't want you telling anyone anything I'm about to tell you."

Jane felt another chill as her son's eyes locked with hers, "Judy and I are involved in several things, and I don't want anyone jeopardizing our plans or putting Judy's life at any more risk than it's already in."

Jane sighed interrupting her son, "Nick, I had hoped you would find a nice girl and finally settle down." Her eyes shifted to the gun partially hidden under Judy's shirt, "I noticed the guns you're both carrying, and I really don't want to know what kind shady business you two have gotten yourselves mixed up in. But whatever it is, please get out of it before you start having kits. You must have plenty of money in the bank by now. Please don't make your kits go through what you did!"

Jane watched as the two mammals looked at each other a moment before they both burst out in laughter.

It took Nick a minute to recover enough to notice that his mother was not pleased by their outburst. The amused vulpine tried to wipe the grin from his lips as he waved a paw as he looked into his mother's angry face, "Sorry mom, I'm not trying to make light of your concerns." He wrapped his arms around his wife, "Mother, I think it's time for a proper introduction. This is my wife, ZPD Officer Judith Laverne HOPPS."

Judy watched as after a moment the vixen's eyes grew wide and her mouth gaped open as the realization struck home. She took Nick's paw, adding, "And this is my husband and partner Nicholas Piberius Wilde. Without his assistance, I would have never have solved either the missing mammal or the Night Howler case. In fact, if your son hadn't risked his life multiple times to save mine, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Jane was still trying to process this latest revelation as she watched the two mammals briefly kiss. As they separated Judy smiled and looked up at the fox, "The reason Nick won't be available in a few weeks is that he has been accepted into the ZPA. So soon he will officially be joining me as a ZPD officer instead of as a consultant and my bodyguard."

Nick looked back into his mother's eyes all traces of humor now gone, "Mom, I am serious about you not telling anyone about any of this. Someone tried to kill Judy a few days ago, and while the ZPD doesn't think it will happen again, I'm not about to gamble on it. That's why I insist that we are always both armed."

Jane glanced uncertainly at the rabbit before asking evasively, "Nick, isn't your past going to cause some issues with that?"

Nick shrugged, "Apparently not. I told the Mayor everything I was involved with, and she didn't care. The crimes I did commit happened so long ago that I can't be prosecuted for them, and all my enterprises over the last ten years were technically legal. Well, legitimate enough that it would be virtually impossible to prosecute me for them. Besides, I stopped running them several months ago."

Jane looked back at the rabbit again, "And does she know what you did back then?"

"Not everything. But I told her most of it, and she didn't even flinch ." He couldn't help chuckling as he eyed the rabbit, "Well, at least not as much as I was afraid she was going to."

After a moment, Nick glanced back to his mother as he changed subjects, "So do you think you can find us an apartment? We weren't having much luck this morning."

Jane chuckled, "Let me guess, the old someone has already rented it spiel?" she just shook her head, "Well we don't have to worry about that. When an apartment is listed, real estate agents can show them without dealing with the manager or owner. They can't pull any of that nonsense since an agreement will already be in place before you even met them. If they were to try to back out at that point, they would end up in court with a hefty fine."

The vixen frowned, "To tell you the truth that type of nonsense is why I chose to become an agent in the first place." She paused a moment before asking, "So, other than location what else are two looking for?"

Nick shrugged, "That will mostly be up to Carrots. I won't be around for a while so that it will be more her place than mine."

Judy glanced up at her husband not sure how he would take it, "Um…I guess the more bedrooms and bathrooms the better. While Nick's away, I will probably have a few of my siblings staying with me. Some will just want to visit the city, but a few will probably want to stay for a bit while looking for jobs."

She relaxed when she saw Nick nod as he said, "Good, I didn't like the idea of you being alone when I was gone anyway."

Judy rolled her eyes, "Nick, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"Of course you are, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to worry about you when I'm gone."

Jane stood up and stretched, "Well, my car is only a couple blocks away. Why don't we go take a look at a couple of places so I can get a rough idea of what you are looking for?"

* * *

Judy sighed as she looked around at the apartment. It was the fourth one they had seen. Each one had been progressively smaller and farther away from the downtown area. She had already given up on any notion of a multi-bedroom apartment. While this candidate was newer than their existing one, it was much smaller. She didn't know what Nick was currently paying for rent, but she couldn't believe that it could be anywhere close to the $3000 a month being asked for this place. The country rabbit still found it hard to believe the rental prices they wanted in the city. They were five or six times what she would have paid for something similar back home.

She was tempted to call and see if the Grand Pangolin Arms might have anything available. Her old apartment might have only been a single room, but at least the rent had been only $800 a month, and it had included all utilities. At the time, it was the cheapest room she could find, and she had still thought that the old armadillo landlady was probably taking advantage of her. But now she was thinking it had actually been a good deal considering it's location, just a couple blocks away from the ZPD headquarters building.

Even as she considered it, she doubted Nick would agree to it. She knew from research just how territorial foxes were of their mates and she suspected he would never allow her to share a common bathroom with a bunch of strangers especially when some of them would be single males. Though she had to admit, she wasn't wild about the idea of any of the females in the building ogling her husband either. She had been jealous enough when her sisters had been eyeing him up. She certainly didn't want Nick running into any half naked females or any of them seeing her husband wearing only a towel!

As Nick walked out of the bathroom, he could see Judy frowning while staring out the single small window in the living room. He crossed over to her and wrapped her in his arms. "What's wrong?"

Judy glanced around making sure Nick's mom wasn't near before saying in a quiet voice, "Nick maybe we should just stay in our current apartment. We can't afford any of these places."

"Judy, you know we can't do that. You wouldn't be safe there. You liked the first place we looked at, didn't you?"

"Of course, I did. But there is no way we can afford $6500 a month!" She groaned as she leaned back against him taking comfort from his musky scent, "Heck, we can barely afford what this place would cost. Between rent, utilities, and food there wouldn't be anything left from my paycheck."

"Well, remember I will be getting a paycheck too."

"Honey, you won't be making much while you're at the Academy and while our income will double when you graduate our costs will also go up." Judy looked around the living room, "We can't have kits while living in an apartment this small, and they are expensive. There are always all sorts of unexpected costs. I wanted a house, but if these rental prices are any indication my plans of ever owning one in the city was just a pipe dream."

Nick sighed, "Judy, I told you before that I have some money tucked away. I have no idea what a house might cost, but I'm pretty sure we could swing it."

Nick just held his wife for a little while watching the traffic passing by on the busy street below. A minute later his mother walked over joining them, "So, what do you think?"

Nick sighed, "I guess we are undecided. Judy's a little worried about costs since I will soon be taking a severe pay cut. So, at some point, we will have to start watching our budget. I think she's a little concerned about putting so much into an apartment when we are probably going to want to purchase a house once I graduate."

The vixen considered a moment, "Well, if that's the case, I think I may have another option for you."

* * *

As Judy slid out of the car's back seat, her eyes roved up and down the street. They were in an older neighborhood roughly a ten-minute drive from downtown. There was little traffic on the street, and all the houses looked well maintained. Several houses up, she could see two young rabbit kits busy playing tag in the front yard while an older doe sat on the front stairs talking on a phone. There were numerous large trees mixed amongst the houses that helped to hide the downtown skyline and the distant city walls.

Jane smiled and slid out of the car's driver seat and looked at the house, "Well what do you think?"

"Um…It looks nice." Judy answered while looking at the house. The truth was it looked incredible. The landscaping and house both looked brand new.

"Well come on. You haven't seen the best part yet."

* * *

As they entered the house, Jane waved a paw, "This is a four bedroom, two and a half bath house. Everything in it has been completely renovated, so you would essentially be buying a new home in a well-established area. It's also in one of the most desirable school districts in Zootopia. Why don't you two poke around a bit and I will meet you out on the patio once you've taken a look."

Nick could help but grin as the bunny practically dragged him through the house.

* * *

Nick and Judy were wandering through the bedrooms for the second time when he asked, "So, do you think it's big enough?"

Judy laughed, "It's probably too big. I have no idea what we would use those walk-in closets for. All our clothes combined wouldn't fill up a tenth of one of them. The bedrooms are large enough to house a dozen kits." She grinned at the nervous expression that suddenly came across the fox's face, "And the kitchen is gorgeous, but most of it would probably be a waste." She blushed as she looked up at the fox, "Um…Nick, it hasn't come up yet, but my cooking skills are pretty much limited to nuking things in the microwave and burning toast. With the size of my family, we mostly subsisted off raw vegetables, occasional sandwiches, and various soups and stews."

Nick squeezed her paw, "I suspected that might be the case when we went grocery shopping and only got vegetables, frozen dinners, and cereal. It's okay. It's not like I'm a great cook either."

He cast her a sly smile, "My method in the past was to invite Finnick over for dinner frequently. He always insists on taking over the kitchen the moment he walked through the front door. Hopefully, that won't change now that there's two of us."

Judy laughed, "That's not very nice, Nick."

Nick expression took on a look of mock sincerity, "He likes to cook. I'm just being the accommodating host by letting him do what he likes to do."

Judy chuckled, "How noble of you."

Nick flashed a grin, "Exactly. Anyways, I _do_ like the master bedroom and bath."

The bunny shook her head, "I swear that bathroom has got to be bigger than my last apartment!"

Nick traced her jaw with his thumb, "So you hate it?"

The rabbit rolled her eyes, "You know I love it. It is far more than I ever dreamed of. But, I also know that we will never be able to afford something like it."

The fox shrugged, "Well, let's at least talk to my mother and see what the owners are asking for it."

* * *

They found the vixen sitting on one of the several cheap folding chairs surrounding a gas fire pit on the back patio talking on her cell phone. From the nearby trash can and the various items lying around the chairs is was evident that the workers had been using the area for their lunch breaks. As they each took a seat, Jane hung up the phone and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Nick glanced at his wife and could see a mixture of excitement and dread warring across her face. "The truth is that we really weren't looking at buying a house now. But, we have to admit it is a beautiful property."

The vixen leaned back in her chair, "Well, my company purchased it at a foreclosure auction so that we could flip it. As you saw, they are still putting the finishing touches on it now. I have an open house scheduled for it this Sunday, but I can let you have it for a great price if you're interested."

Nick couldn't help but see the excitement in his wife's eyes, "We may be interested, but even if we were to buy it, we are still going to need somewhere to live until we could close on it."

Jane merely waved her paw, "As I said, my company owns it. If you want it, then you can live here while closing. You can move in tomorrow if you need, as long as you don't mind the workers coming and going for the next several days."

Nick leaned forward in his chair, "So how much does something like this go for?"

Jane considered a moment, "I was originally going to ask 1.2 million, but with the savage attacks a lot of mammals left the city, so there is a bit of a housing glut right now. So, I will be only be asking for 1.1 million on Sunday. But, if you're interested, I will let you have it for a cool million. That would cover what I have invested in it, and it will still provide the company with some profit. The rest you can consider as a wedding present."

Nick had seen Judy's ears droop as soon as his mother had mentioned the price.

Judy sighed, "Well, maybe we will just take the small one-bedroom apartment for now. In a few years maybe we will be able to afford something like this."

Nick looked at his mate a moment, then turned back to his mom, "Mother can we have a few minutes to discuss it?"

The vixen smiled knowingly, "Of course, just find me when you're ready to leave. I still have at least half a dozen calls I need to return."

After seeing his mother enter the house, Nick turned to his wife. "Judy, I told you I have some money tucked away. If you want the house, we can afford to buy it."

The rabbit's eyes narrow on the fox, "So you just happen to have a million dollars lying around?"

Nick shifted a little uncomfortably, "Well, I wouldn't say it's lying around, but a million dollars really wouldn't be a problem, although we would probably actually take out a low-interest loan and make payments on it."

The rabbit slumped in her chair and covered her eyes with a paw, "Nick, please don't tell me you were also a bank robber or a drug dealer in your past."

Nick's face went somber as he replied flatly, "Okay, I won't tell you."

He watched as the rabbit eventually peeked through her fingers at him and he couldn't hold it back any longer, breaking out in a laugh.

He continued to chuckle as the rabbit growled out, "That wasn't funny Nick!"

He smirked, "It was a little funny. Anyways, rest at ease Carrots I already told you the worst of my crimes."

Judy continued glaring at her husband, "Okay Nick, explain to me how you managed to save over a million dollars on $200 a day?"

The fox sighed and asked, "So, Carrots what do you know about economics?"

The rabbit frowned, "Not much, but what does that have to do with where you got your money?"

Nick chuckled, "Actually, it has everything to with it. It was the cornerstone of my business ventures." He leaned forward as his face took on a serious expression and he steepled his fingers, "Okay, economics 101. At its most basic level, economics boils down to how much it costs one mammal to pay for one meal."

He waved a paw when he saw the confused expression on his wife's face, "I know what you are thinking. How does that work in the Federation with all the different species, each needing a different amount of food for a meal? After all, an elephant probably eats 10,000 times what a mouse does for a meal."

Judy merely nodded while blushing slightly not wanting to reveal that she hadn't thought that at all.

"The Federation does the only thing it can. It tries to regulate everything, and as a result, it has created a bureaucracy so complex that no sane mammal can understand it all. But if it hadn't then every species would be entirely at the mercy of the dominant species in the Federation."

Judy sighed, "And I suppose you're going to tell me that that species is the foxes?"

Nick broke out in a laugh, then quickly apologized when he saw the glare from his wife, "No, I'm sorry Judy. The dominant species by a landslide are the mice."

He could hear the disbelief in her voice, "The mice?"

"Yep, the mice." He paused a moment, letting it sink in before continuing, "Carrots, there are 20 times as many mice in Zootopia than all of the other species combined. Proportionally, Little Rodentia is a vastly larger city than all of Zootopia's districts combined. Without any regulations, the rest of us poor mammals wouldn't stand a chance."

He could see the blank expression on her face. "Okay, let's say you are opening a business like a software company. You would need a bunch of workers and a building. So why would you possibly hire anyone other than mice to run it? Without any regulations, you could construct a building that could support dozens of mice for a few thousand dollars. With the little amount mice eat, and the low cost of housing, you could pay them virtually nothing compared to say an elephant. So, no larger mammals would ever be able to compete in the market place."

"Nick, that doesn't make any sense, programmers make roughly the same amount no matter what species they are."

Nick leaned back in his chair in satisfaction, "Exactly!" After a moment, he frowned when he still saw the confusion evident on his wife's face.

He sighed, continuing, "Okay, you know how much this house costs now. So how much would a similarly proportioned house cost a mouse in Little Rodentia?"

Judy's frown deepened, "Um… A few thousand dollars?"

Nick shook his head, "Not even close, it would cost them the same 1.1 million dollars this place would cost us. The Federation and Zootopia make sure it cost that much by artificially inflating the price and by strictly regulating the cost of building materials for tiny mammals. By doing that they collect enough money from them that they can provide the subsidies required for larger species to afford their own houses."

"It works the same way with my pawpsicles." Nick cleared his throat, "It's actually illegal for a giant mammal ice cream shop to sell a jumbo pop to a fox." He glanced at Judy a moment before finally adding "Or a rabbit. But the funny thing is that it's not illegal for a small mammal to actually purchase one. So, if the shop is caught doing it, they would most likely receive a fine. If they continued to do it, then it might result in them being shut down."

Judy looked in disbelief at the fox, "What are you talking about Nick? It's not illegal for a restaurant to sell food to smaller mammals!"

Nick closed his eyes, "It is if it isn't setup to handle the different transactions and portions required. While all chain restaurants are set up to take care of it, most 'Mom and Pop' restaurants aren't. It just cost too much to deal with the occasional different sized mammal that may walk in."

The fox returned his gaze to the rabbit, "I'm not sure how it is in your home town. Maybe all of the large mammal restaurants are setup to handle small mammals since the majority of the citizens are rabbits, but in Zootopia most aren't."

"The whole point of what Finnick and I were doing was to con those shops into selling us jumbo pops so that we could save money. If we were to purchase that much popsicle syrup from a small mammal supplier, it would cost us well over a hundred dollars. Instead, by conning the shops, we were able to get enough for roughly 200 pawpsicles for just fifteen dollars."

Nick saw the sudden annoyance on the rabbit's face, "Wait a minute. I thought you were conning other mammals into buying them for you."

The fox's ears folded back not liking where this was suddenly heading, "Um… actually we never did that. We wanted to be able to keep going back to the same ice cream shops. Usually, if we could convince them to sell us one jumbo pop, then we could convince them to sell us more in the future. No store would ever let us come back if they suspected we were conning their customers out of their money."

Judy's eyes narrowed on the fox, "Then why did you con me into buying you that jumbo pop? I may not have been aware of it at the time, but you actually tricked me into intimidating that poor elephant into breaking the law!"

The fox was looking increasingly uncomfortable, "The truth is I didn't like that you followed me into the shop just because I was a fox." He looked in her eyes, "Then I saw your reflection in the display case when you unbuttoned that fox repellant you were carrying." The fox sighed, "At the time, I thought I would see if I could teach you a lesson."

Nick watched as the annoyance melted from his mate's features as she got up, moved over, and sat in his lap, "I'm sorry about that, Nick."

The vulpine hugged her, "So am I. Neither one of us were at our best that day."

As Judy settled back against her husband, she reminded him, "So the source of the rest of the money?"

Nick sighed, "There's not much more to it. There's a little-known law regarding reclaimed wood. Essentially, any wood that has been previously used can be repurposed and sold as building material anywhere within Zootopia including Little Rodentia. Reclaimed wood is exempt from all of the construction supply laws. So, I buy popsicle sticks for 5 cents apiece use them for my pawpsicles, then resell them for 10."

Judy looked up at her husband, "Nick selling popsicle sticks for 10 cents each is not going to make you over a million dollars!"

Nick chuckled, "No, but selling them for ten dollars a stick will. Carrots, the city currently has the price fixed at a minimum of twenty dollars for an equivalent piece of lumber in Little Rodentia."

He flashed her a sly grin, "You know the hardest part of the business was keeping track of all those damn used pawpsicle sticks! We tried hard, but it's always possible a couple of hundred new sticks just might have slipped into the bundles of reclaimed sticks I sold every day."

The vulpine shrugged, "It was an all cash business so who knows for sure?" He smirked adding, "Anyways, my business is incorporated within the fox provinces, and I have an excellent accountant who handles the books and the company's taxes."

Nick put on his most pathetic face, "Unfortunately, Finnick and I poured all of our resources into that business. So much so, that we never did receive a salary that could be taxed by the city."

Judy merely rolled her eyes, "So is that it for your nefarious business dealings."

"Um…Well, most of it. There are several loans I made that I'm getting returns on."

Judy sighed, "So, you're a loan shark too?"

Nick looked slightly indignant for the first time, "Am I a loan shark? No, no I am not. I'm actually charging less interest than most banks would. Most of the loans are being used to pay for tuition for foxes that normally wouldn't be able to get a loan. They are risky, but so far they have turned out to be a sound investment."

Judy didn't even bother commenting, but looked slightly abashed and just snuggled in closer against her fox.

After a little while, Nick finally said, "So, basically we have a little over two million in various mutual funds and other investments. We're not rich, but we certainly aren't poor. If the economy is doing well, then we will probably be pulling in more in dividends than either of us will be making at the ZPD."

The fox sighed wistfully, "If I could have kept running my business ventures for another five to ten years we probably could have both retired and lived very comfortably without ever having to worry about money again. But once the Mayor outs me and my life is suddenly under close scrutiny that won't be possible. Well, at least not until everything settles down and no one is paying attention to what I'm doing again."

Judy tentatively rubbed his muzzle, "Nick, I'm sorry. When I got you involved in everything I didn't know I was ruining your future plans."

The vulpine leaned down and kissed her nose grinning as he saw it twitch several times as he pulled back, "That's okay, while it was great making money I have to admit that for the past several years I felt more and more like I was stuck in a rut. I really wasn't doing anything with my life, but making money."

"Until you came along I really didn't know what I was missing. You don't have to worry about it. I don't regret any of my decisions regarding us." He smiled as he glanced at the house, "So now that you know we can afford the house, the real question is, do you want to buy it?"


	26. Chapter 26

Nick and Judy were standing outside their apartment building along with Nick's mother. Jane leaned back against her car she looked with distaste at the building and neighborhood. After a moment, she couldn't hold it back as she growled out, "Nick, why are living here? I mean Finnick has a beautiful apartment uptown."

The fox shrugged, "It's home, I've lived here for ten years. The neighborhood's a little rough, but everyone minds their own business."

The vixen crossed her arms and muttered, "Of course they do. If they didn't, they would probably end up dead in the nearest ditch."

"It's not that bad." The fox chuckled, "Besides, I'll have you know that the ZPD provides curbside pickup for the bodies, thank you very much." The fox sighed at the frowns on both the females faces as the attempted joke fell flat.

They all stood in awkward silence until Judy finally rolled her eyes and unceremoniously shoved her mate in the direction of his mother. The fox shot her a brief glare before turning towards his mother.

He cleared his throat, finding himself at a loss for words, "Um… Mom, thanks for this afternoon. I…" he paused a moment and sagged a bit, unable to meet the vixen's eyes as he continued in a quiet voice, "I know I haven't been a very good son. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you when you needed me."

The vixen sighed, then reached out and lifted her son's muzzle while shaking her head, "Nick, I'm the one that's sorry. I was so busy with work that I didn't spend the time I should have with you. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late and you were already gone. I should have tried harder to find that time. It was my responsibility to take care of you, not the other way around. I should have never put you into that position."

This time she was the one that couldn't meet her son's eyes not wanting him to see the tears forming in her eyes, "Nick, do you really think I didn't notice the extra money in the box each week with your scent on it?"

She shook her head, "And after you left…" she paused before blurting out, "Do you think that Finnick can't add?"

Nick snorted a small smile crossing his lips, "Actually, I know he can't. I had to tutor him and help him with his homework all through high school."

The vixen raised her head, hesitating a moment before tentatively reaching out to brush her son's cheek. "Nick, it doesn't take a genius to know that ever since you left you have been giving your brother far more than his half of the profits or for him to know what you expected him to do with it."

The vixen's eyes dropped to the ground again, "I'm the one that feels guilty, Nick. I knew what you were doing out on the streets to get it, but I still took the money. I was desperate back then, and that money allowed Fin and I to move to a safer neighborhood. With it, I was able to cut back on the hours I had to work so that I could spend the time with Fin that I wish I had been able to spend with you. It allowed me to get my realtor's license and start my business."

The tears were freely flowing down her cheeks now, "You told Judy that you abandoned me, while the truth is that I wouldn't be where I am today without you. I have missed you so much, and I have always been so very proud that you're my son. It's just that I always wanted something better for you." She looked up, forcing herself to meet her son's eyes as she brushed his cheek again, "You deserved a normal life."

She paused a moment before deciding to go for it. After all, she thought, she may never get another chance. She reached out and quickly pulled her son into a tight hug. She felt him stiffen for a second before his body relaxed and he returned it with flattened ears and a nearly inaudible whine.

As Nick rested in his mother's arms, his tail wrapped around her legs and he reveled in her scent, a scent he had missed for such a long time. He allowed himself to become lost in it until the traces of another familiar scent finally started nagging at him. He was so accustomed to that other scent that it had taken him till now to realize that it didn't belong mixed with his mother's. The longer he held her, the more distracting it became. Finally, he pulled away, looking at her curiously as he asked, "How long?"

He saw her momentary confusion before her ears folded back in embarrassment and she looked down before answering, "A long time."

Nick growled in annoyance, "Why didn't Jack tell me? I didn't even know you knew each other, let alone were dating!"

As she looked up, he could see the sudden concern in her eyes, "We didn't know how you would react. He was afraid you might not approve, or that you might turn away from him as you did with me."

Nick found he didn't like her answer, not at all. It hit far too close to home. He didn't like admitting it, even to himself, but deep down knew it was exactly what would have happened if he had found out about it even just a few months ago. He growled softly, more annoyed with himself than his mother, "It shouldn't have mattered whether I approved or not, it's your lives." Even as he said it, he wasn't sure if the words were meant for his mother or himself.

He closed his eyes and took several breaths to calm himself before saying, "Mom, as long as you're both happy, then I guess it's alright with me."

He opened his eyes, seeing the small smile on her lips as she tried to wipe away the tears, "That means a lot, Nick. For both of us."

The vixen considered before hesitantly asking, "Would you consider coming over to our place for dinner Sunday?"

Nick hesitated as he considered the implications. Not only were they dating, but they were also living together? This revelation along with everything else he had been dealing with over the past several weeks had him feeling overwhelmed, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for anything else. But before he could form an answer, Judy quickly cut in, taking his paw and answering for both, "Of course we will. Just give me a call on Saturday with the details."

Jane beamed at the rabbit, "Great, we will see you then." She quickly hugged each of them before getting back in her car.

Nick watched as his mother pulled away, before turning his frown on the smirking bunny who merely returned his gaze and asked with a deceptively innocent grin, "What?"

* * *

Nick removed his pistol and holster, setting both on the coffee table before sinking back into the couch with a sigh of relief. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he listened to Judy moving about the apartment. He lifted one lid when he heard her say, "Here," and took the offered bottle of water. He took several sips before replacing the cap and setting it on the floor.

He watched as Judy laid down on the couch, resting her head in his lap. After several minutes, his paw found and gently started stroking her ears. As he reached the base of the ear, he smiled as she shifted to lean into it. He listened to the small murmurs of pleasure for a while before slowly tracing his thumb along her inner ear. He felt the bunny shudder as she gasped out, "Nick, that's not fair! You know what the does to me!"

As his paw shifted over to the other ear, he caught the familiar scent of his mate's excitement mixed with her increased pheromones. The fox chuckled, "What's not fair is that you fell asleep last night before giving me the massage you promised. It may not be much of one, but it is our honeymoon, and I haven't made love to my wife for well over twenty-four hours. I'm not taking any chances tonight."

He leaned down and gently kissed her as his as his excitement grew. His free paw moved down and started fumbling with the annoyingly tiny buttons of her blouse.

Suddenly Judy shifted, moving quickly to straddle her mate as her tongue sought out his. She could feel the evidence of his excitement pressed tightly against her even through their clothing. As she ground against him heard her mate moan into the kiss.

She smiled and tried not to laugh as she noticed the fox's tail thumping excitedly against the surface of the couch next to them. Her eyes widened, as she felt one of his paws settle on her ass as the other found and started fondling her tail.

After a minute, she broke the kiss, gasping for breath. She wrapped her arms around his head, guiding his mouth to her neck while her eyes closed. She ground against him again, enjoying the accompanying moan, then it was her turn, the gasp escaping her lips as she felt his wide tongue moving slowly through her neck fur follow by the soft nip.

She heard the loud, low growl of annoyance from the fox less than a second after hearing her phone ring.

"Judy, just ignore it. You can call whoever it is back later!"

She sighed and pulled the phone from her pocket, examining the screen before groaning, "Nick, It's my parents. I'm sorry, but I have to take it. If I don't, they will just keep calling back every 5 minutes until I do."

Judy watched as her mate slumped back, still panting lightly. He wasn't bothering to hide the annoyed expression on his face and she took a moment to rub his cheek, "Nick, we will continue where we left off in a few minutes, promise." She glanced down and quickly re-buttoned her shirt before stabbing the 'Accept' button on the phone with a little more force than was necessary. "Hi, Mom. Hi, ..." she paused, surprised when only her mother's image greeted her this time. She asked, "Um...So, where's Dad?" as she turned around and took a seat in the fox's lap.

"Oh, it's his cribbage night at the lodge."

Bonnie moved her face closer to the phone, noticing her daughter's slightly rumpled shirt, along with the fact that several buttons were misaligned and the fur on both mammals looked like they had just stepped out of a windstorm. She smirked as she asked, "So, I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

She couldn't help laughing as the fox replied with a wolfish leer, "Nothing but a failed attempt to ravish your daughter. Ow! Hey, watch the elbow Carrots, I'm kind of fond of those ribs!"

"Well, I'm sorry for interrupting you. I know how it is, Stu and I barely left our room for two weeks after we got married, and when we did it was almost impossible to keep our paws off each other. More than once, we were nearly caught in a compromising position when we didn't make it back to our room quickly enough."

"Please, Mom. Way too much information." Nick laughed and didn't need to look to know that his wife's ears were bright red.

Bonnie grinned, "So, then I guess I shouldn't mention that I'm pretty sure you were conceived on one of those occasions?" She shook her head, "It's been 24 years, and your father and I still find it hard to keep our paws off each other."

"God, enough, Mom." As Judy pulled her ears down over her eyes trying to high the blush. After several seconds, she finally peeked out from behind her right ear, "So, Mom, why did you call other than apparently to embarrass me?"

Bonnie closed her eyes a moment before opening them again all humor gone from her face, "The truth is I probably shouldn't have called, your father insisted that we should leave you two alone for a couple of weeks, but I just couldn't help it. Nick, I just wanted to call and thank you once again for saving my daughter's life."

Nick was confused, "Um… You're welcome, of course, but, both you and Stu have already thanked me. Besides, as I also told you before, Judy has saved my life too."

Bonnie cleared her throat, "Nick, there's a big difference between Judy telling us that you saved her life and seeing what you did."

Nick couldn't help the low growl, "What?"

He could see the momentary confusion on Bonnie's face, "Nick, they have been showing a video of you saving Judy on the news all afternoon. While your head has been blocked out, you can easily see what that ram and was planning on doing to Judy. You can also see what the fox… well… what you did to save her."

Judy could easily see the shudder run through her mother's body, "Your father, and I are both going to have nightmares for weeks after seeing what almost happened to you!"

Judy looked up in concern as she felt Nick tense beneath her. He had a distant look in his eyes, and she knew he was no longer paying attention to the conversation. She reached up, trying her best to comfort him and gently rubbing his muzzle.

Bonnie, oblivious to the fox's distress, kept right on talking, "Judy, I still don't understand why you want to be a police officer. If you want to live in the city that's fine, but we really would like you to find a different job. Maybe if you asked they would let you go back to being a meter maid." It took matronly rabbit a little while to notice that neither mammal was responding to her. "Um… Did I say something wrong?"

Judy sighed and continued to rub her mate's muzzle as she looked back at the screen, "No, it's just that we are both still dealing with what happened. It's been much harder for Nick since he never had to do anything like that before. While I haven't experienced it, I understand it a hard thing to have to kill another mammal, even when it's necessary."

Bonnie looked guilty, "I'm sorry Nick, I didn't know. From the video, it sort of looked like you probably had done it before. I mean you are a predator, and you didn't hesitate or anything…"

Judy decided it was far beyond time to change the topic and forced a smile, "Well, at least I have some good news. Nick and I are buying a house! It's beautiful, in a nice neighborhood, and it's relatively close to work."

"While it's far larger than we need, for now, there should be plenty of room for when our family begins to grow." She looked up feeling relief when she noticed that Nick was once again paying attention.

"Well, congratulations! Call when you are going to move in, and I will send some of your siblings up with a truck to help you."

Judy chuckled, "That won't be necessary, mom. I suspect we can probably fit everything we own inside a single taxi. But, thanks anyway."

Judy thought carefully hoping not to further upset her husband before saying, "I got to meet Nick's mother today. She seems nice, and we are going to have dinner with her in a couple of days. I'm kind of hopeful that we might be able to patch things up between her and Nick."

"Well, that would be good. It's always a terrible thing when family members don't get along. Hopefully, if things work out Stu and I will get a chance to meet her."

Not wanting to dwell too much on it, Judy asked, "So, what is happening out there?"

Bonnie laughed, "Not much, other than I think every available fox in the county is currently running scared."

Judy looked confused, "What?"

Bonnie had an ill-concealed smirk on her face, "Well, from what little I can gather, there was a lot of debate among your siblings as to whether a fox would ever be able to keep up with, let alone be able to satisfy a rabbit." Bonnie chuckled," Let's just say that you and Nick were fairly vocal the other night, and the walls in the house are thin."

Nick hugged his mate as she moaned, and once again covered her eyes in embarrassment. He couldn't hide the grin as she glared up at him as if it was somehow all his fault.

Bonnie shook her head while smiling, "Well, apparently, Nick outlasted every expectation that your siblings had by a long shot." She shrugged, "Some of them have decided that they have overlooked another source of potential mates. So they have been out evaluating the counties available fox population."

"Even as I speak Matthew is getting ready for a date with a vixen from town, and Tammy has been on the phone most of the day with a todd she knows from school. I guess they have been friends for years, but up until now, she just never considered him as a potential mate. At this point, I suspect she has already set her sights on him, and the fact that he has a vixen girlfriend doesn't seem to be deterring her in the least."

Bonnie shook her head, "At this rate, I suspect that soon Nick may not be the only fox in the family. Speaking of which, we are still going to have that discussion regarding grandkits. There is already a lot of speculation among the family as to how soon, and as to what they are going to look like."

Bonnie glanced away from the screen briefly, "Well, I have taken up enough of your." She grinned as she said, "So, I guess I will let Nick get back to ravaging you. I love you both, goodbye."

After hanging up, Judy placed the phone on the coffee table. She got up and stretched, "Well, I'm hungry. Why don't you turn on the news, and I will see what we have for dinner?"

She only made it a couple of steps towards the kitchen, before she caught the auburn blur out of the corner of her eye, as the fox pounced. She laughed and didn't put any fight as he threw her over a shoulder and headed for the bedroom.

* * *

Nick opened his eyes. He smiled seeing the bunny lying next to him, returning his gaze. He stretched as he asked, "How long have you been up?"

"Not long." As her paw started running through his chest fur, "I thought I would wait a little while to see if you wanted to join me for a shower."

The fox chuckled, "Like you have to ask? Next time, just wake me up. There's no way I am going to miss out on sharing a shower with my mate if I have the choice."

Judy frowned, "Honey, you need your sleep." She hesitated a moment, "I know you're still waking up frequently each night. Maybe... you should call and talk to the doctor about it."

He sighed and his ears dipped, "I'll think about it." Moments later, his expression brightened as his paw slowly traced down the gentle curves of the rabbit's body, "So, how about that shower?"

* * *

As Nick finished his breakfast, he glanced over at the bunny that was somehow already busy on her third bowl of cereal even while frequently stopping to respond to either a text or email. He shook his head. He had no idea how she could keep up with, or even keep track of the sheer volume of texts and emails she received from her family.

So far, he had been lucky. Since only Bonnie and Stu had his contact information, he had been spared from sharing in the constant barrage. He got up placing his bowl in the sink before moving back and gently running a paw between his wife's ears. "I will be back in a couple of minutes. I'm going down to the lobby to get the mail." He shook his head at the mere nod of acknowledgment, as the rabbit's thumbs blurred on the phone's screen, totally engrossed in whatever conversion she was currently having.

* * *

Nick fumbled as he inserted the key into the mailbox. It was one of the top boxes, and he always had to struggle to reach, though it wasn't like it mattered. Until Judy had moved in, only Finnick had been aware of where he lived. So, it wasn't like he ever received much more than the standard 'Or Occupant' advertisements.

The truth was, he hadn't even bothered to check his mail since before Judy had moved in. He was surprised as he pulled out the large, thick envelope mixed in with the other pieces of mail. The hint of a smile crossed his lips as the return address indicated it was from Lambton and Lambton attorneys of law. Using a claw, he neatly slit open the top and pulled out the thick bundle of papers. A smile spread across his lips as he flipped through the pages. It looked like Judy's parents had come through like they had said they would.

He moved over to the small table that held the building's brochures, along with the usual mix of takeout menus, and other advertisements for the residents. He was pleased to find that someone had left a pen and was surprised when he discovered that it worked.

It took several minutes to go through the document, Nick flipping through the pages and either initialing or signing each of the flagged pages. When he finished, he went back through the packet looking at the corresponding locations that required Judy's initials and signatures. His mind raced through all the ways he could easily con the bunny into signing it. He then considered how simple it would be to forge her signature. After all, he had copies of it, and God knows it certainly wouldn't be the first time he had forged a signature.

As he slipped the documents back into the envelope, he sighed, as he thought, what's the point? He already knew if he just asked her, she would take his word and would sign them without even questioning him about it.

As he padded back to the apartment, he had to admit that despite all the perks, being married to Judy did tend to take all the fun out of being a con artist.

* * *

As Nick entered the apartment, he noticed Judy was nowhere in sight. He went over to the closet and slipped the folder inside his laptop bag. He would just have her sign it along with all the other documents they would both be signing over the next couple of days.

He wasn't about to make the same mistake his father had. He was going to make sure his mate would be taken care of if anything ever happened to him. He would be updating his will along with giving her joint access to all his accounts as soon as he could arrange it. And for the first time in his life, would probably look a getting a life insurance policy.

He shook his head as he walked towards the kitchen, God, there was just so much to do, and so little time. He had wanted to whisk Judy away somewhere for a week so that they could have a proper honeymoon, but he just couldn't see that happening now that they had to get the house ready.

As he entered the kitchen, he started flipping through the rest of the mail. Most of it was advertisements, and he casually tossed each of them unopened into the trash can until he came to the last piece of mail. He smiled as he opened it and quickly scanned the contents. The smile fell from his lips after the second line, and he went back re-reading it slowly. As he finished, he closed his eyes, tilting his head back while muttering under his breath, "I should have known better." The sense of crushing disappointment was a surprise to a mammal who ordinarily expected the worst, but this time he'd really thought things finally might be looking up. Judy was right, he really was a dumb fox.

"Should have known what?" Judy asked as she walked out of the bathroom. She saw the surprise and for a moment the flicker of something else in the fox's eyes, was it regret? She watched as he crumpled up something in his paws before tossing it into the trash can.

"Um… I should have known better than to bother opening something saying that we have may have already won a million dollars." Judy was looking at her mate when she saw it. The false smile she hadn't seen in over a week. The one she now suspected her partner had spent most of his life hiding from the world behind.

Nick clapped his paws together, "So Carrots, we have a busy day today. We need to buy at least enough basics so that we can move into the new house. We also need to go to the bank, and, if we can squeeze it in we should probably look at a few used cars. So, why don't we go downtown and spend the day shopping?"

Judy smiled at her husband pulling him down into a quick kiss, "Sounds like a plan." As she held him briefly, she noticed the tension in his muscles that hadn't been there earlier.

* * *

They were almost to the lobby when Judy felt at her belt. "Nick, I forgot my gun." She was surprised when the fox hesitated a moment, instead of immediately demanding that she go back and get the weapon. Finally, he sighed, "Go get it, I'll meet you in the lobby."

As Judy entered the apartment, she immediately went to the trash can and removed the balled-up piece of paper she'd seen Nick throw into it before they left. She didn't know what it was, but something had changed this morning in the brief time they had been apart, and she suspected that it was somehow related to it.

Judy flattened the crumpled letter out on the countertop before reading it. As she finished, she noticed the loud growl. She glanced around, then blinked in surprise as she suddenly realized that it was coming from her, and that her ears were pressed flat against her back. The incensed lapine shook her head wondering how after such a short time around the fox, that she was already apparently picking up some of his mannerisms.

Her eyes closed briefly as she considered her options before her shoulders slumped. There really was only one option that she was willing to consider. She picked up a pen, flipped the paper over and quickly started writing. After a minute, she examined what she had written. Once satisfied, she briefly searched the trash can locating the envelope it had arrived in and placed the letter back into it.

With unnecessarily heavy steps, she crossed to the coffee table noting that the stack of papers was still there from the other day. She flipped them over, examining the writing on last page. With only a moment's hesitation, it was also added to the envelope. Without a second look, it was slipped into her back pocket before she walked out the door.

It was only after she'd finished locking the apartment door that Judy Hopps was abruptly struck by the obvious., With several muttered curses, she hurried back inside to grab her gun and holster from where she had left them on the bed.

After placing the holster on her belt she turned and hurried towards the lobby all the while hoping that Nick wasn't wondering what was taking her so long.

* * *

Their first stop was a furniture store, where Nick relished the opportunity to stretch out on the bed and run padded fingers between his bunny's ears, "So, what do you think?"

Judy chuckled, looking around at the huge amount of empty space, "So, just how many additional mammals are you planning on inviting into our bed at a time?"

The fox grinned as he looked up at the ceiling, "Well, you do have a lot of cute sisters, and they did seem interested in me. So, if a half a dozen of them wanted to join us, then who am I to deny… Ow…" The fox chuckled as he rolled on his side and rubbed briefly at his ribs, even though the rabbit had barely bumped him with her elbow.

After a moment, he caught his wife's eyes, his expression turning serious, "All joking aside, you do know that you're the only one that I want to share my bed, don't you?"

He smiled, as he was rewarded with a brief kiss. He stretched again, "Besides, I can barely handle one bunny in bed, having anymore join us would likely kill me." He rubbed at his muzzle as if seriously considering it, "Although... if I had to choose how I was going to die…"

Judy merely rolled her eyes as she got up and moved to the side of the enormous bed. "Let's just get the same size bed we currently have. It's plenty big enough for the two of us."

She reached over taking the fox's paw, "Come on, let's see how quickly they can deliver it. If it's going to take too long, then maybe we can just borrow your brother's van."

Nick's mood sobered as he rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I wouldn't count on that. Well, at least not anytime soon. I'm pretty sure Fin will be avoiding me for a while. He's probably hoping I will calm down enough not to shave him bald and toss him naked out into downtown Sahara Square during rush hour."

Judy couldn't help laughing at the imagery, "You're, not really going to do anything to him, are you?"

The fox sighed, "Probably not. While he pissed me off yesterday, if he hadn't done it, then I still wouldn't be on speaking terms with my mother. I just don't want him to think that there won't be consequences if he ever tries to pull something like that again. I'll probably just let him sweat it out a few more days, then we will go out have a few drinks, and forget about the whole thing."

Nick chuckled at the expression of disbelief on the bunny's face, "What? You don't expect him to apologize, us to hug it out, and then for us have a long drawn out discussion about our feelings, do you? Where both male, it's just not going to happen." He intentionally ignored his mate's glare as he signaled a deer that was busy assisting another customer.

Noticing a gawking rabbit couple nearby, he couldn't help himself before he flashed a wide grin and waggled his eyebrows. Just to drive home the point and see if he could draw out an indignant reaction, he wrapped one languid arm and his tail around Judy as they sat on the side of the bed.

Judy shook her head at her mate's antics, but still returned his kiss when he bent down.

As they waited for the clerk, Judy mentioned, "Oh, Nick, I'm going to stop by the ZPD building briefly at lunch."

She had been expecting it, and saw his eyes narrow slightly as he asked, "Why?"

"It's payday. I'm going to ask the Chief to send someone outside with our paychecks." She noticed that her husband seemed to relax a bit with her answer.

"That's fine. But we should probably meet whoever it is away from the building. You don't want a reporter or one of your co-workers seeing you there unless you feel like being inundated with questions you're not supposed to be answering."

* * *

Nick's eyes roved the street looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary. He was leaning against a storefront, and he was trying hard to ignore Judy and the mammal Chief Bogo had sent with their paychecks. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. His eyes keep being drawn back to them like iron filings to a lodestone.

After a minute his gaze once again fell on the two mammals sitting on the bench as they chatted less than a block away. He kept telling himself that he trusted his wife, and he did! Really!

No, it was the Goddam buck sitting next to her he didn't trust as far as he could throw him. Which at this point he was tempted to attempt just how far he could, especially if he were able to locate a bridge nearby. For science, you understand.

Part of the problem was that he couldn't tell if the buck was handsome or not, all he could tell was that he was brown, cute, and sitting far too close to his wife for comfort.

He had to concentrate to prevent from his lips from peeling back in a snarl. After all, come on, the bench was huge and if they were sitting any closer, Judy would literally be in his lap! Then there was the touching. They would both constantly brush against each other as they talked. His brain kept telling him that it meant nothing. That it was standard behavior between two rabbits, but it still had his teeth on edge.

He was considering it might be time to go over and give the buck an up close and personal look at his pointy smile, while casually looming over him when both rabbits finally hopped off the bench.

Nick's eyes narrowed as Judy stopped the buck as he turned to leave, handing him something from her back pocket, before turning and walking back to him.

As she joined him, he sighed, suspecting he already knew the answer, "Judy, what did you give him?"

She didn't meet his eyes, "You know what I gave him." She was quiet for a little while before she finally asked with an edge of anger in her voice, "Why, didn't you tell me?"

Nick was trying to figure how best to answer that when the bunny's eyes met his. The building behind him prevented him from stepping back as the rabbit's finger suddenly jabbed into the middle of his chest as her eyes blazed, "I'm your wife, you should have told me!"

Nick reached out and pulled the rabbit into his arms. He ignored her struggles to break free until she relaxed after a few seconds.

He sighed, "You're right. I should have told you, but I just couldn't. Between getting married and buying the house you were just so happy. I wanted you to continue to feel that way for at least a few more days before you were forced to face the cold realities of the city." He felt the tension suddenly drain from her body as she leaned in and clutched at him.

"It's not fair, Nick."

"No, it's not. But, whoever claimed that the world is fair?"

He pulled back, then gently wiped away the tears that were already running down her face. "I'm a fox. We're used to adapting and going on no matter what the world throws at us. And trust me, the world tends to throw quite a bit at us. All that matters to me now is that I still have you."

* * *

Bogo flinched as the glass sailed past his head to shatter against the hardwood door. It had passed so close to his ear that he had felt the breeze as it passed by. He wasn't sure whether she had a poor or excellent aim and wasn't inclined like finding out. As he met the tiger's furious gaze, he winced at screeching sound made by the feline clawing deep furloughs into the surface of her desk.

"So, Catherine," another voice calmly interjected. "Is your temper tantrum over yet? Or should we put you in a corner for the rest of the meeting?"

Bogo felt relief, as the Mayor's gaze shifted from him to focus on the brown rabbit sitting on the desk. The ordinarily unflappable cape buffalo was surprised at the rabbit's calm demeanor, seemingly unphased by the large predator's withering gaze, moving only to casually swirl the dark liquid around in his glass.

After several seconds of meeting the tiger's gaze, the rabbit sighed and looked down at the deep claw marks on the surface of the desk. His eyes slowly traced the deep troughs until they reached the point where the tiger's claws were still firmly embedded in its surface, "You do realize that I'm going to have to get this desk replaced now?" The rabbit shifted a bit, "I would be more upset if I hadn't already been planning on doing it. The damn thing has to be the most uncomfortable thing I have ever sat on."

When Simon's eyes met the Mayor's again, there was an edge to his voice, "But, you have no excuse for throwing away a full glass of 25-year-old Ocellion brandy! I have no idea how Lionheart came across it, but if you're going to treat it that way, then I'm going to take the remaining cases home with me."

The tiger retracted her claws before collapsing back into her chair with just the hint of a smile touching her lips, "I'm sort of surprised you haven't already made off with it."

The rabbit chuckled, "Trust me, I have been sorely tempted." He took a small sip and closed his eyes as he savored the taste. With his eyes still closed, he asked, "So are we going to discuss it like civilized mammals or are you going to keep destroying things? If that's the case, then why don't we move the meeting to my office? It has much less expensive things to break."

The rabbit finally opened his eyes when he heard the tiger chuckle. He watched as the Mayor leaned back in her chair, waving disgustedly at the two sheets of paper lying in the middle of the desk, "So, what are we going to do about that? You know this is going to wreck our plans."

Simon sighed, "It's just a minor setback. It just shows that there is more rot than we thought and that it runs deeper than we suspected. We will straighten it out as soon as we get a hold of them."

Bogo cleared his throat, "You are both overlooking the more immediate issue."

The rabbit arched an eyebrow, "And that is?"

Bogo sighed, "What do you think is going to happen if Hopps and Wilde get on the evening news, reveal everything, and tell everyone that the Mayor's office and the ZPD betrayed them?"

The Mayor couldn't help snarling, "But, we didn't do that!"

The rabbit slowly nodded, "True, but I'd guess that's not the way they see it." He took another sip, considering briefly, before looking at the Chief, "So, I assume you are taking steps?"

The water buffalo nodded, "Neither one is answering their phones or replying to texts or voicemails. So, I have Officer Wolford staking out their apartment. He will contact me, and talk to them the moment they get home, assuming it isn't too late."

The Chief sighed, "We leaked that damn video and the story about a fox being involved in the cases to try and calm down the situation. To show the predators of the city that one of them believes enough in Zootopia to risk his life to not only protect it, but also to save the life of the rabbit that most feel made the situation worse for them."

He rubbed at his forehead, "It hasn't even been 24 hours, and it's already come back to bite us in the ass. The foxes have always been wary of the ZPD, and in many cases rightly so. If they think we used one of them, then tossed him to the curb the first moment it was convenient." he shook his head, "There will be riots in Foxtown at a minimum, and it won't stop there. There are a lot of other predators just looking for an excuse."

The rabbit frowned as he studied the liquid in his glass before saying, "If it comes out, it isn't just Foxtown where you may have problems, Chief. Most rabbits are pacifists, but roughly one in a hundred are born being much more aggressive than normal. My species always turn to them when there's a crisis.

Judy Hopps is one of those, and every rabbit in the city considers her to be both a hero and a role model. If the more aggressive of my species think we screwed her over, then they will take to the streets, and the rest will follow them. While I doubt they would intentionally start a riot, when you get tens of thousands of any species in the streets, it's hard to predict what will happen."

The Chief looked back to the Mayor, "I think we need to take several precautions. I recommend that we pull in all the off-duty officers while placing both the rapid response unit and the guard on alert. I would also like to start moving officers and equipment to a staging area somewhere between Foxtown, and the Warren."

The Mayor cleared her throat, "Okay, sorry to interrupt this fascinating discussion," as her fist hit the desk with a resounding 'Thump.' "But, let me be clear! We will only act if, and when, we need to. If it looks like we are gearing up for war, the news services will be all over it, and it will likely cause the exact problem that we are trying to prevent. Besides, do you seriously think that Hopps is going to do something that would intentionally throw the city into a state of chaos?"

Bogo sighed, "Intentionally? No. But, the truth is, I have no idea what she will do. What we have is a relatively naïve bunny running around somewhere, feeling that we betrayed her and her mate. The only reason I didn't immediately start pulling in officers when I got their letters of resignation is that I'm sure Mr. Wilde would know what would likely happen if they went to the reporters. Right now, I'm counting on him being the voice of reason until we get a chance to talk to them."

The Mayor's claws started to tap on the desktop, "So, now for the million-dollar question, how the hell did this happen in the first place? I made it clear that no matter what, Mr. Wilde was going to attend the Academy. Chief, you assured me that he was scheduled to attend the next class. So, how the hell did he end up receiving a letter of rejection?"

The Chief sighed, "I have no idea. I only have limited access to the Academy's records, but from what I can access, he is no longer listed as a cadet. In fact, I couldn't find any records regarding him at all.

The only records that still exist are his city employment records, and I suspect that the only reason they may not have been deleted or altered, is that I happen to have them locked."

"I can think of it only two possibilities, either it was some type of clerical error or someone at the Academy is intentionally altering records. In either case, we will have to pull in Internal Affairs to determine what happened."

The rabbit snorted, "A clerical error that just happens to affect the first fox cadet accepted into the Academy?" He shook his head, "Not very likely. There are safeguards in place. You can't just delete a personal record with a single key stroke. Besides, whoever did it still would have had to have sent the letter before deleting the files. No, I think we need to go on the assumption that it was deliberate."

Eyeing the last sip of expensive brandy in the glass, he continued in the same calm tone, "I suspect that whoever did it just wasn't aware that Mr. Wilde was a mammal of interest to anyone. They probably simply assumed that it would go unnoticed."

The rabbit took a moment to finish his drink before adding, "In fact, the more disturbing thought is just how many other records might have been altered, and why?"


	27. Chapter 27

Nick's eyes roamed around the interior of the SUV once again, noting the gleaming faux wood paneling, plush cloth seats, and the large central touchscreen. So far, he had found that the touchscreen was his favorite part and he had been busy playing with it ever since they left the dealership. He had to admit to himself that the used vehicle was starting to grow on him, even if it wasn't the sports car he would have preferred.

The fox lowered his passenger side window further as he tried in vain to air out the car. From the moment he had first opened the door, he had noticed the faint scents of the family of skunks that owned the car before. While he had never met a skunk that smelled bad, much like foxes they had an uphill battle in the way other mammals perceived them. So the dealership, in their infinite wisdom, had decided to try to mask their scents with a liberal amount of harsh cleaners.

While he wouldn't have minded the mild, musky scent of the skunks, what he was stuck with was not only their scents, but the strong odor of chemicals too. The smell of which, he was firmly convinced, had been designed by some evil genius to target and wreak havoc on a fox's sensitive sinuses in a deliberate attempt to render them incapable of smelling anything.

Eventually, he grew tired of playing with all the car's controls, and his eyes moved to take in the city passing by outside. As the buildings blurred by he smiled, recalling how Judy had gone over every inch of the car before practically vanishing from sight inside its engine. At the time, he had just grunted in agreement with the everything she said while he spent the time admiring the view of his mate's cute butt and twitching tail.

The truth was that he didn't have the slightest idea what she had been talking about in regards to the vehicle. He just hadn't felt much like admitting it in front of either Judy or their raccoon sales mammal. With all of Zootopia's various forms of mass transit, he had never found the need to own a car before. As a consequence, his experience was limited to the few times that Finnick had grudgingly allowed him to drive his van.

The vulpine pulled his attention back to the present as he glanced once again at the rabbit behind the wheel. He sighed at seeing his mate hunched over the steering wheel, ears forward, eyes narrowed, with the same look of annoyance in her features that had been there since they had left the dealer. He had hoped that by now she would have gotten over most of her anger, but it just hadn't happened.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the small strip mall, he looked about to check out their destination. While he passed by the plaza many times, he never had a reason to stop before. He examined the various small shops before allowing his eyes to settle on the sign directly in front of them. It had a grey wireframed image of a cityscape in the background with text 'Wilde Reality' in bright red lettering over the top. He smiled at how the bottom of the 'y' morphed into the stylized shape of a fox tail that curled back around under the entire name.

As he looked at the realty office, he had to admit that he was more than a little impressed. It was much larger and looked far more professional than what he expected .

"Well, it looks like mom's business is doing well," he muttered to himself.

He looked over at the bunny when he didn't get a response, noticing that she was lost in thought. As he started to open his mouth to get her attention, he was interrupted as his phone rang. Nick suspected he knew who the caller was before his phone cleared his pocket.

A quick glance was all that was needed to confirm his suspicions, "Carrots, its Chief Buffalo Butt again…"

His mate merely growled in annoyance, "Ignore him." Then after a moment, she added, "You should just block him. I already did."

Nick sighed while flicking a thumb over the screen dismissing the call, "Judy, we are going to have to talk to him at some point."

The bunny rounded on him snapping back, "No, we don't! I put everything that needed to be said in my resignation letter."

The fox broke into a small laugh, "Yeah, but 'screw you we quit', while rather poetic, probably didn't provide him with much information."

Judy tried, but couldn't help bursting into laughter. It took her a while to regain her composure, but when she finally did, she answered, "My letter did NOT say that!"

The fox smirked as he pocketed the phone, "Oh, yeah, that was my letter. And while I do appreciate your turning it in for me, I suspect neither the ZPD or the Mayor's office will be sending me any New Year's cards."

The rabbit's ears suddenly dropped down her back as she closed her eyes and gently thumped her head against the steering wheel on hearing Nick's thinly veiled sarcasm. "Okay... Okay, I get it. I should have talked to you before turning yours in. I'm sorry, but I was ticked off, and I didn't think you would mind. They did reject your entry into the ZPA right after promising us you could attend. Besides, you were all set to resign just last week!"

Nick leaned back, waving a paw in dismissal. "It's fine. It's just that if you hadn't been in such a rush, I might have been able to pull in a couple more paychecks before someone realized the city was still paying me a small fortune to do absolutely nothing."

Judy leaned back in her seat as the last of the anger she had been carrying throughout the day finally drained away, leaving her feeling strangely empty inside.

She tried to hold back the tears as she asked in a quiet voice, "Oh Nick, what are we going to do now?"

The fox merely shrugged, "We are going to go inside and sign the paperwork for the house and pick up a set of keys. Then we are going to go and wait for our furniture to arrive."

Judy turned to see the small smirk playing across the fox's muzzle. She rolled her eyes, "You know that's not what I meant!"

She hesitated a moment before saying, "Nick, maybe we shouldn't buy the house. We're both unemployed and it isn't too late. We can still cancel the purchases we made this morning."

"Carrots, you love that house," Nick said gently "Besides, we have the money, and I refuse to let my mate continue to live in a neighborhood where I'll constantly be worrying about your safety whenever I'm not with you."

He took a moment and studied his mate, trying to judge her mood before deciding to risk it, "As for what we are going to do. Now that you seem to have calmed down, maybe we can discuss what _you_ are going to do. Preferably without biting my head off."

The rabbit shot the fox a suspicious look before asking, "And what, pray tell, is that?"

Nick merely shrugged, "It should be fairly obvious. Chief Bogo has been trying to get a hold of both of us all afternoon. I doubt he would be doing that if he wanted to accept your resignation. You are the hero of Zootopia after all, and I suspect both the press and public are going to have a field day when they found out that you up and quit the force right after saving the city."

Judy replied before Nick could even finish talking, "Nick, we both saved the city. I would have never been able to do it without you!" Her eyes suddenly narrowed as her mind finally caught up everything the fox had said, "Wait, you're not suggesting…"

The vulpine cut her off, "That if he gives you the chance to change your mind that you do? Of course, I am." He grinned when he saw his wife's mouth drop open in disbelief, "Judy, while I'm flattered you felt it necessary to quit because of me, you really are being a dumb bunny about it. If I had known what you were planning, I never would have allowed you to do it!"

Nick paused a moment before amending, "At least, I would have done my best to stop you, anyway."

The fox's ears folded back as he glanced out the windshield, "Look, I don't know why I didn't get accepted into the Academy. Maybe they decided my background was too sketchy after all." He sighed, "Or maybe they don't think the city's ready to accept having a fox be a police officer."

He shrugged,trying to hide his disappointment, "Whatever the reason, what kind of mate would I be if I allowed you to throw away your lifelong dream because of it? I said it before, and I will keep saying it until it finally sinks in. You are the best officer on the force. Both the ZPD and Zootopia still need you."

The fox turned back to catch his mate's eyes as he forced a smile, "Now, while I truly believe that, I have to admit I'm not being completely altruistic here. Judy, please don't make _me_ the reason you gave up on your dream. I'm planning on us spending the rest of our lives together, and I don't want to you come to regret your decision, or worse, have you come to blame me for it sometime in the future."

He let the rabbit mull over his words for a little while before continuing, "Anyways, I figure I have been idle for long enough. I haven't done any work for months, and it's probably time for me to get back to work. For years I've thought about opening an Ice Cream Shop, and now with Fin busy opening his restaurant, maybe it's time I do it."

Nick couldn't keep the sly smile off his muzzle as he added, "Though needless to say, I will be keeping my side business of selling recycled pawpsicle sticks as lumber in Little Rodentia. After all, that's where the real money is anyways." He reached over and gently cupped the rabbit's cheek, "Give me ten years, and we will have enough money to retire and do anything we want to."

The fox watched the bunny struggle a bit as she climbed over the SUV's center console, settling into his lap and immediately burying her face into his neck and chest. He shut his eyes as rested his muzzle on top of her head as they both simply took comfort in each other's presence.

With his eyes still closed, Nick eventually asked, "Well?"

He smiled at the muffled reply, "I'll think about it," that emanated from somewhere below.

"Well, while you think about it. How about we go in and sign those papers? The furniture store said they would try to deliver everything this evening. It would be kind of nice if we actually had somewhere they could deliver it to."

As he reached for the door handle, Judy caught his arm. She grudgingly pulled away from the fox's fluffy neck fur and pulled his muzzle down until their noses almost touched. "Nick, I just want you to know that I love you so much right now and that it's because of moments like this that I chose to pursue you as my mate."

Nick chuckled, "And it's because of comments like that, that I decided to let you catch me."

* * *

"Nick, put me down, now!"

The fox chuckled, "Sorry, Carrots I can't do that, this is traditional after all."

The rabbit tried hard not to laugh, but ended up failing miserably, "What kind of twisted species would possibly come up with something like this as a tradition?"

The vulpine was fumbling with the keys while trying to balance the squirming rabbit currently draped over his shoulder. "Says the bunny whose family sent us hundreds of text messages containing sexual advice and suggestive images. Not to mention all those links to various pages of the 'Canid Sutra' on our mating night!"

Judy blushed and stopped her halfhearted struggles as she saw past her mate's rapidly wagging tail that the several foxes who had been busy loading tools and supplies from the house's garage into a maintenance van, had stopped working and were now watching them with interest.

"Nick, hurry up! We have an audience!"

"Let them watch. They're just jealous they haven't been able to chase down and catch their own bunnies."

With an audible click, the deadbolt surrendered and the front door swung open. As they crossed the threshold, the fox grudgingly let his mate slip down to the floor. "Welcome to your new home, Mrs. Wilde." He leaned in, intending to kiss her but was halted abruptly by the paw pressing firmly in the center of his chest.

Judy didn't bother hiding her grin, "Mr. Wilde, you do realize you're going to pay for that, don't you?"

The fox quickly moved the offending arm aside as he pulled her into a deep kiss. He enjoyed the fact that despite her earlier protestations, the rabbit eagerly met and returned it.

After a moment Judy broke the kiss, blushing furiously at the sounds of several whistles and catcalls coming from the foxes standing in the driveway.

Nick smirked as he leaned in and whispered into her ear, "It was still worth it."

As he went to close the door, he couldn't help poking his head out and shouting to the other foxes, "Okay, the show's over, folks. There will be encore performances at 7 and 10! Tickets are still available. Please be sure to tell your friends!"

After he had closed the door, cutting off the sound of the chuckling foxes he slipped his paw into his wife's and ran his eyes around the empty first floor. "Well, they were supposed to finish all of the work today, so how about we see what our new home looks like?"

* * *

Nick was standing on the back patio, looking around the backyard with an expression of dread on this face. They hadn't even moved in yet, and he was already starting to have a severe case of buyer's remorse. For at least the fifth time in the past ten minutes, the fox was internally debating that maybe he should have taken Judy up on her offer of staying in their old apartment. After all, his mate probably would have been perfectly safe there once he had blackmailed or if necessary hospitalized a couple of his more outspoken neighbors.

He tried to refocus on what his mate was saying without much success. For the past fifteen minutes, she had been moving about the backyard and enthusiastically describing her plans on converting the majority of into a vegetable garden.

While he didn't care what she did with the backyard, what did concern him was that Judy's plans seemed to keep expanding and all of them sounded like they were going to require far too much back-breaking labor for his taste. He had a sinking feeling about just who was probably going to get stuck doing most of the hard work.

He was already debating if he could get away with hiring someone else to do it, possibly while Judy was at work, when he heard the doorbell ring through the open back door. He grinned as he watched as Judy's ears quickly swivel towards the door moments before she turned and bolted past him heading into the house.

He took one last look at the backyard and shuddered at the thought of all of the work that would be involved. Nick sighed, shaking his head as he wondered once again just what he had gotten himself into, before he turned and followed his mate back into the house.

* * *

Judy couldn't keep the smile off her face as she raced to the front door, the excitement of spending the past hour wandering through their new home had almost made her forget her anger with the ZPD and the Mayor's Office. She skidded to a halt at the front door, then paused a moment to tug down her shirt before reaching for the doorknob.

As she opened the door, her eyes went wide, and she took an involuntary step back. Her paw was nearly to the pistol concealed under her shirt before she managed to arrest its movement. She tried to fight off her sudden unease as she looked at the two looming mammals standing in the doorway.

"Ma'am, are you okay?"

Judy tried to force a smile which had the unfortunate effect of appearing as more of a grimace, "Uh… Yes, of course, you… you just startled me."

The smaller of the two large rams laughed as he nudged the other, "Lenny, what did I tell you about that ugly mug of yours? It's so bad that now you're scaring the customers!"

Lenny just rolled his eyes and muttered, "Everyone thinks they're a comedian." After a quick glance down at the clipboard in his hoofs he said, "Anyways, we have a delivery for a Nick Wilde?"

"Um… Yes, that's my husband. I..." The rabbit nearly went airborne, while this time her paw did grip the butt of her pistol as the paw touched her shoulder from behind.

"Easy there, Carrots," Nick murmured reassuringly.

Nick studied Judy's eyes a moment a little surprised by what he saw in them before gently squeezing her shoulder, "Judy, I can take care of this. Why don't you go out back and determine exactly where you're going to want that garden?"

Judy looked down at her feet. It was a flimsy excuse, and she hated herself for it, but she grasped at it like a drowning kit. She nodded, thanking them before turning and making her way towards the back of the house.

* * *

It was over an hour later when Nick finally stepped outside onto the patio. He found his mate sitting with her back against the house, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, and her chin resting on a knee. She seemed lost in thought as her eyes stared vacantly at the large wooden privacy fence that separated their back of their yard from the neighbors.

The fox took a seat next to his mate and wrapped an arm around her, "So, want to talk about it?"

The fox smiled as the rabbit leaned against him and slowly shook her head. He kissed the top of her head before saying, "Okay, let me rephrase that…" He paused for dramatic effect, "I know!" he said in an overly enthusiastic voice, "Why don't we talk about what happened?"

The bunny shifted resting her forehead on her knees, "Nick, what's wrong with me? One of my best friends since elementary school is an ewe. Her brother used to hang out with us all the time! But now… I saw those rams and…" she hesitated before saying, her voice full of concern, "Nick, they did nothing, and I almost pulled my gun on them!"

"But you didn't, now did you? Judy, personally I am impressed with just how well you handled yourself, considering the number of sheep that have been doing their best recently to try and kill you."

Judy sighed, "But you weren't afraid,were you?"

The fox barked out a laugh and switched to a whisper, "You want to know a secret? The moment they went out to start unloading the truck I actually did pull out my pistol and checked that it was loaded." Nick shook his head, "At the time I knew it was stupid. It's not like the bullets would have gone anywhere since this morning, but I still felt the need to make sure they were still there."

The vulpine shrugged, "It took me until they were just about to leave before I started to relax around them." He gently nudged his mate, "And I wasn't the one that was forced to stare down the barrel of a hand cannon that I swear looked big enough for you to fit your head inside."

He pulled the bunny closer, allowing his tail to wrap protectively around her, "Judy, what happened last week is going to leave a lasting impression on both of us. It's just going to take time to get over." The fox sighed, "And I feel that some of its probably my fault."

Judy pulled away enough to turn and look up at the fox in both surprise and disbelief, "How can you possibly think any of it is your fault?"

The fox sighed, "Because, I should have followed my instincts and not allowed either of us to go and visit your family in BunnyBurrow. But, I was in love and I was too afraid to make a fuss about it so soon after we had just marked one another."

He saw the sudden flash of fear in his mate's eyes, so he quickly continued before she had a chance to say anything, "First, before you completely panic, don't get the wrong idea. I don't regret even for a moment that we registered as mates. In fact, the way I see it, that would have always happened at some point."

Nick could see the confusion in his mate's expression. "Judy, you somehow expect both of us to be getting better even though neither of us has been following any of the ZPD therapist's advice. I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. This last week we were both supposed to be taking it easy and avoiding as much stress as possible."

The vulpine chuckled, "Well, I don't know how rabbits go about relieving stress, but I will tell you this last week has probably been one of the most stressful of my life. Between registering as mates, dealing with issues with both our families, finding a new home, the constant concerns about the news services and everything that happened today... quite frankly, I'm surprised that at least one of us hasn't had a heart attack or suffered a mental breakdown!"

The fox shook his head, "No, considering everything we have been through the past two weeks. I think that a few nightmares or being a little afraid of two giant rams showing up unexpectedly on our doorstep don't seem too bad."

He gave the rabbit a gentle squeeze, "So, starting tomorrow, I think it's finally time we start taking the doctor's advice."

The rabbit reached up and ran her paw along her mate's muzzle, "Okay. Sounds like a plan."

Judy considered a moment before chuckling, "Are you sure you're not just saying that as an excuse to get out of going to dinner at your mother's?"

The vulpine barked out a small laugh before replying, "Oh, I suspect that now that we are at least talking to each other, I can probably handle one dinner with her without stressing out too much. Besides, that's why you're going to be there. Worst comes to worst; I'll just go with plan B."

"Plan B?"

"Yep, that's where I throw you to the foxes while I make my getaway."

Judy laughed as she continued rubbing her mate's muzzle, "My, what a brave fox I married…"

Nick grinned in return, "I told you before Carrots, I'm a survivor. I never once claimed that I'm brave. That's why I have you."

They sat for a while until Judy's brows furloughed as a thought suddenly struck her, "Nick, why did you say starting tomorrow?"

"Um… No reason?"

She closed her eyes on hearing the evasiveness way he had answered the question. Sighing heavily, she asked, "Okay, what did you do?"

* * *

As they entered the house, Judy was surprised at how different it looked furnished. While they would still need to get many more things to make it feel like a home, at least now it had the basics.

While neither of them had ever purchased furniture before, the process had been relatively straightforward. For the living room, dining room, and bedroom they had merely looked at and chosen from the different combination sets that had been on display. Those sets not only had the benefit of being cheaper but had also been available for immediate delivery.

As they walked into the living room, it wasn't hard to notice the single item that she hadn't purchased. She frowned, and wondered briefly how Nick had even been able to buy it without her knowing considering she couldn't remember any time they had been apart, "Nick, what's that?"

The fox's face took on a surprised expression as if just noticing the item for the first time. He walked over to it and poked at it tentatively with a claw several times before stepping back to rub at his muzzle, "Well, while I don't have your extensive ZPD training in deduction, I think that just might be a TV."

Judy rolled her eyes, "Hilarious, Nick. I'm quite aware that it's a TV. What I want to know is why it's there? I certainly don't remember us discussing purchasing that monster this morning."

"It's not that big." The fox said defensively, "It's the same size as the TV's in your parent's living room."

Judy, closed her eyes, as pinched the bridge of her nose, "Nick, they have those because not only is their living room at least ten times larger than ours, but there are often around fifty rabbits watching each one!"

She walked over and collapsed on the sofa staring up at the massive screen. It was hard to judge, but she wouldn't be surprised if the damn thing were nearly as tall as she was.

She glanced briefly at her mate and while he was trying hard to look nonchalant about the whole thing,she could see more than a hint of concern in his eyes. That, along with the nervous way the his tail-tip kept flicking back and forth in small rapid movements was a clear indicator of just how much he was worried that he had probably gone too far in purchasing it.

While annoyed that he had done it without asking, she found it hard to be too angry with him. The truth was that if Nick wanted the TV, then he deserved to have it. It was his money after all, and other then herself it wasn't like she had brought much to the table when they become mates.

She sighed, knowing that in many ways she was guiltier than he was about making decisions without discussing them first. First, she had refused the land her parents had offered them, and then she had turned in both of their resignations without ever asking her mate's opinion.

She closed her eyes for a moment before saying, "Fine. You can keep it. But in the future, both of us need to start including the other in our decisions BEFORE we make them."

She tried not to smile as she heard the audible sigh of relief from her mate. She opened her eyes as Nick settled on the couch next to her.

The fox pulled her close gently kissing the top of her head before saying, "Love you."

She couldn't help chuckling, "Yeah, that's what all males say when they know they're in trouble."

Nick grinned widely, "That's because we know just how often it helps us to get out of it."

"Right... Just keep telling yourself that, and we will see just how well that works when you really screw up."

They were silent several minutes just enjoying each other's company until Nick finally said, "While I don't know about you, I'm starving and considering everything that has happened today, I'm also exhausted. How about we grab some takeout and head home?"

"Um…about that, I was kind of thinking that if we stopped at the apartment and just packed some basics then maybe we could spend the night here."

Nick sighed, "Can't we just wait and move in tomorrow? I really am tired, and depending on the traffic it will take us at least half-an-hour each way not to mention all that time packing and unpacking."

Judy squeezed her mate's paw, "Tell you what, if we spend the night here I will let you sleep in as late as you want tomorrow."

The fox chuckled, shaking his head, "That's not much of an incentive, considering I'm usually up before you."

He saw a smirk suddenly appeared on the bunny's muzzle and her nose started to twitch. Even though he knew he was going to regret it, he asked anyway, "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what it would feel like."

The vulpine grew even more suspicious as he tentatively asked, "What, what would feel like?"

Judy tapped a finger to her lips as she replied innocently, "Oh… It's just that I have never been in a jacuzzi tub before, let alone shared one, and I was just wondering what it would be like." The bunny sighed, "But if you're too tired, then I guess we'll just have to hold off until the next time that I'm in the mood."

The fox tilted his head back, groaning in defeat, "Carrots, you do realize that's completely unfair, don't you?"

"Do I?" The rabbit's lips broke into a mischievous grin, "Yes, yes I do…"

 **Author's Notes:**

The word of my demise has been greatly exaggerated though massive amounts of overtime, a chest cold that lasted over a month, and finally the flu, all made attempts. ;)

Anyway, I hope the chapter wasn't too bad. I know, I know, it didn't resolve anything, but after twenty-six chapters, and then a long break, I needed to put out a bit a refresher while also trying to get back into writing.

Given how hard it was to pick up this story again after such a long break, I have decided to make a few changes going forward. As you may have noticed, as the story has progressed, chapters have been getting increasingly longer and longer. I decided that starting with this chapter that I'm going to start trying to cut back on their size. Hopefully, this will result in more frequent releases while also making it a lot easier for my proofreaders/editors and me.

While I haven't heard any complaints, I also noticed while re-reading the story that in the later chapters I have probably been going into far too much detail, so I'll probably start trying to cut back on it a bit so that the story can advance at a faster pace


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